Blood Stained Lilies
by Akiru chan
Summary: SasuNaru-Vamp Fic- To Naruto Vampires were only Hollywood movie monsters. The last thing he ever expected was to wake up as one, let alone be thrown into a society and lifestyle that was so foreign to his own. And then, there was Sasuke.
1. Time

Written By: Akiru chan, Beta'ed By: Todesengal

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**Blood Stained Lilies**

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Prologue: Time

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"Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment can be eternity, eternity can be the tick of a clock."

-Mary Parrish-

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_Life, as I have come to know it, is filled with lies, torment, betrayal, deception, and sorrow, yet with in it's dark depths I have tasted the happiness and light of love and friendship. _

_I lost it though, my light, causing me to blindly search for it as the times flew by, all in one massive blur. _

_Life after life I looked; not even death itself stood in my way. _

_Death, I once feared it like most mortals do, but looking back, I now find the idea rather humorous. Back then it was a real threat, something I had come to expect, since life could not last forever. _

_Now though, after that 'night', death has come to mean nothing. It is only the end of the body's cycle, though the mind lives on, waiting to be reborn again and again. _

_That is the fate of those cursed with blood such as mine, blood that should never have entered my veins. _

_It was the cause of so much. It was the end of my life as I had known it, it was the beginning of so much more, but most importantly, it was the start of a bond that would transcend time itself. _

_But for you all to understand all of this I should start at the beginning, one that night when my life was thrown out of control. _

_The night that I was Bitten. _

_--_

The moon cast lonely shadows onto the cream-colored walls of the modestly sized bedroom. Their twisting frames played with each other as the tree outside gave them life in the strong breeze that blew outside.

It promised an autumn rain that was sure to come in the coming hours, yet there was a great storm brewing within the room itself.

From within the torrent of shadows one moved freely, its life not dictated by the tree nor the wind.

It was a living and breathing creature, who befriended the darkness and lingered in the solitude that only night offered. And here it stood in this bedroom, its reasons for being here not the least bit innocent.

Its eyes, a deep crimson, took in the only other living thing in the room. A boy, no older than 17, slept on a soft feather bed under a navy blue comforter.

His golden locks blew in the draft created by the ceiling fan. A handsomely tanned face with scar like marks on his soft cheeks could be seen cuddled into the pillow. His expression was calm and content, completely unaware of the danger he was in.

The invader smirked at the sight in front of him and finally removed himself from the shadows and into the light of the moon.

He was a man with raven black hair and cold dark eyes.

This man had an air of superiority to him that would cause any other man to cower in his presence, he was a man that commanded feared and respected.

The boy on the bed twisted in his sheets as he shifted to a more comfortable position, exposing his tanned neck to the dark man.

A cruel smirk spread across that pale face. He was now beside the bed, looking at the blond with interest. Giving a low tremble of a chuckle, he leaned forward.

At the sound of the harsh laugh, the boy opened a drowsy eye and looked into two crimson orbs that mirrored bloodlust at its peak.

In the dream-like state his brain still slept in he did not feel an ounce of panic. Even as he felt his neck being pierced and the steady flow of blood, he still stayed calm until his body became numb and he fell back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Narutoཀ It's already 8 o'clockཀ If you don't get up now, you're going to be late." Silence followed the outburst. "Naruto Uzumaki, get up NOWཀ"

The said blond turned in his bed, grumbling. It should be a federal offense to make the future tax-payers of this country get up so freakin' early to attend the hell some called school.

"I'm up, momཀ" Naruto yelled back, massaging his head. It felt as if he had been hit by an eighteen wheeler. His whole body ached in all the wrong places and his head throbbed.

"Shit, what did I do last night."

"Naruto, mouth." His mother said in a warning tone from the door. "Hurry up and get dressed and I will drive you to school."

His mother was a pretty lady with a slender frame and long dirty blond hair. She worked in real-estate and was often away from home.

Naruto didn't mind much, she had always been there when he needed her to, and when it was time to go to church.

He loved his mom, but sometimes he wished she was a little less religious. Her life was ruled by the Bible, so in turn Naruto was expected to follow its teachings.

Now Naruto believed in God and was a faithful church-goer, but he could not say he agreed with all of the teachings.

His mother denounced homosexuality and anything that dealt with witchcraft, the occult,or demons. To say the least, Halloween was a forbidden holiday, and God forbid he read Harry Potter or see such movies as the Exorcist.

All in all, though, he loved his mom, and ever since his dad's death some year ago, she was all Naruto had.

Naruto smiled at his mother and nodded. "Sure, I'll be down in a bit."

He watched her leave the room before he got up and headed to his bathroom across the hall. He would just do his hair and brush his teeth; there was no time for a shower.

The mirror in front of him displayed his image. He looked rather pale, which didn't concern him much considering how he felt, although another oddity did.

Moving closer to the mirror, he exposed his swollen neck. It was slightly red and welted around what seemed like two puncture marks.

"What the..." The wounds baffled him; they were rather big for a insect and he really did not want to think how big the spider had to be to leave bites like these.

Deciding it was better not to think about it at the moment, he hurriedly brushed his teeth and fixed what he could of his unruly hair.

When he was done and finally dressed, he rushed downstairs to see his mother setting a plate down on the table.

"Hurry up dear, you don't have much time."

Naruto did not need to be told twice. He was starving, and the egg sandwich was looking awfully appealing.

Sitting down he lifted the food to his mouth and dug in. It tasted wonderful, yet it did nothing to quell the hunger that hung there.

Even after he had consumed the whole thing along with a glass of orange juice and a Pop-tart, he was still hungry.

It made no sense to him; maybe he was really getting sick.

"Naruto, how much are you going to eat? Come on, I'm leaving."

Naruto looked grudgingly at the food as if it was at fault before grabbing his bag and following his mother out the door.

* * *

Lunch was not much better, by this time food just seemed to lose all taste. It was weird, really.

He was no longer hungry for food, but the hunger was still there and stronger than ever.

"Gah, I can't take this anymore." Naruto whined in defeat.

"What's buggin' you out?" A brunette asked.

"Kiba, I'm going to die." The boy known as Kiba gave his friend a confused smile before putting his hamburger down.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I have been hungry all day."

"So, eat something." He passed the blond a fry.

"That just it, I have been eating. Except nothing helps, it just seems like the more I eat the hungrier I get."

"Well that is a problem."

Naruto just shook his head and went to get up. "I'm going to go get a coke."

Kiba studied his friend for a moment. He looked rather pale and he was sure that the way he was swaying when he stood was not a good thing.

"You sure you are going to be ok?"

"Of course, I just need to get a . . ." His sentence trailed off as the room started to spin and then everything went black.

Kiba jumped up to catch the falling blond. "Shitཀ" That was all he could think of, except for the need to get his friend to the hospital.

One would think taking him to the nurse would be the best thing, but Kiba knew better. The school had been low on money for the past few years and had decided to have a parent volunteer to take care of the sick students.

Too bad they were all a bunch of air heads. So, making up his mind, Kiba hoisted his friend into his arms and headed out to the student parking and to where his car was parked.

No one said much as they left, not caring in the slightest what was wrong with the blond, but that seemed to be a good thing since it allowed him to get out of the school without a hitch.

Strapping Naruto into the passenger seat, Kiba shut the door and got in on his side, starting up the car as he did so.

It took him no time to take off in the direction of the hospital. It was only a few blocks away so he would be there soon. Kiba only hoped that everything would turn out ok.

* * *

Mrs. Uzumaki stared at the white washed walls of the emergency room. She had gotten a call from Naruto's friend and had rushed over here as soon as possible.

She now sat next to Kiba, who refused to leave until he found out everything was ok. So far the doctors knew nothing. All they could make of the situation was that Naruto had slipped into a comatose state for an unknown reason.

In the end, they decided to take some blood samples and wait to see if anything could be explained by that.

Kiba sighed as he looked over at the worried woman. "You think everything will be ok?"

She turned to the messy haired boy and gave a weak smile. "I'm sure, God is with him."

He only nodded, unsure if that would be enough. After all, God had more than just Naruto to look after.

"Mrs. Uzumaki." Both jumped from their seats as a doctor came towards them.

"How is he?"

"Is he going to die?"

"Oh, please not thatཀ"

They ran their mouths in worry and anxiety, but were quickly silenced by the doctor.

"Naruto will be fine. The blood test showed a rare mutation in his blood. We don't know much about it but we can assure you that he is in no danger."

Mrs. Uzumaki let relief wash over her and Kiba soon followed suit.

"All we can do at this point is refer you to a specialist that deals with this condition. We called him and he will be expecting you immediately. Also you can either choose to transport him there yourself or we can go by ambulance."

She took in all that the doctor said. "Is he awake?"

"No, not yet."

She nodded. "I will take him."

The doctor smiled and led her off to the room where Naruto was staying.

"Kiba dear, can you come with us and help me carry him." Mrs. Uzumaki asked over her shoulder.

"Sure thing Ms. U."

* * *

It wasn't much time after that that they found themselves sitting in a rather colorful room.

Naruto was lying on the examination table with the other two sitting in the chairs provided.

Upon the walls hung interesting pictures on different blood types and other, odd blood related information.

'What an odd place.' Kiba thought as he looked at what looked to be a model of the human mouth, except the canine teeth looked worriedly large.

"Ah, sorry to keep you all waiting." In walked a man with dark brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail and a large scar across his nose.

"I am Dr. Umino. It's a pleasure to meet you all." He gave them all a bright smile and held out a hand.

"I'm Kaoru Uzumaki." She shook the doctor's hand.

"And I am Kiba Inuzuka." Kiba said with a smile.

"And I am going to guess that this is Naruto." Dr. Umino pointed to the blond on the bed. He received nods in reply.

"Well then I guess we should get him awake. He needs to hear what I have to say just as much as you all do. This is all happening to him after all." The man had an odd way of comforting and making the room so much more relaxed.

Kiba couldn't help but smile at him as he turned to a cabinet in the corner. Opening it up he could see what seemed to be a small refrigerator.

Dr. Umino opened it up and fished out a bag filled with a red liquid and a long clear plastic tube.

Kiba raised an eyebrow at this. '_What is he going to do with that?_'

No sooner than that thought had entered his mind did the doctor move to stand next to Naruto. He worked silently, opening Naruto's mouth and gently forcing the tube down the boys throat.

'_He's going to make him ingest that?_' Kiba was confused, to say the least.

When Dr. Umino was done, he turned a small switch at the base of the bag where the tube connected and let the red liquid flow into Naruto's mouth.

"Ummm... Dr. Umino."

"Iruka is fine."

Kaoru blinked but continued. "Iruka, what is that?"

Kiba looked back at the doctor awaiting his answer.

"Blood, AB type." Was all they got in reply.

Kaoru looked taken aback ,but said nothing as she saw Naruto begin to stir as the last drops of blood fell into his mouth.

Iruka wasted no time in removing the tube and helping the blond boy into a sitting position.

"There, how are you feeling?"

Naruto looked at Dr. Umino completely confused.

"Narutoཀ" Said blond turned to see his mother and Kiba.

"Mom, Kiba?" He looked back and forth between the strange man and his mother.

"What's going on?"

"Dude, you freakin' passed out in the cafeteria. I had to drag your ass all the way to the hospital." Kaoru gave Kiba a disapproving look at the word ass, but said nothing.

"So am I ok? I mean..."

"You are perfectly normal, well, as normal as possible for someone with your condition." All eyes in the room turned to look at Iruka.

"They said it was a blood mutation." Mrs. Uzumaki stated.

"Yes it is, but it is also much more than that. Please take a seat. I think it would be better if you heard this while sitting." She looked worriedly over at Naruto.

"Ok, where to start... Ah yes." Iruka took a seat on the rolling doctors chair and faced his audience.

"The mutation as you have called it, is a condition that is passed from one person to another. Kinda like the cold, but nothing like it."

Kiba looked over at Naruto for a moment. "So does that mean I can get it?"

Iruka laughed. "Not by touch, it can be only transmitted through a bite."

"A bite?"

"Yes, but there is more to than that. If Naruto bit you now, it would not change anything. You would not contract it."

Kiba nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer, although he would be sure to steer clear of Naruto's mouth just to be safe.

"Now, as I was saying, it is more than a blood mutation since it affects your whole body and lifestyle. To put it quite simply and bluntly..." He turned to Naruto. "Your body is no longer that of a human's. You no longer need food to live, hence you passing out. Naruto, you were bitten by what you know as a vampire."

The room was silent, whether it was from shock or disbelief, Iruka did not know. Then suddenly laughter resounded off the walls.

"Wow, doc, that was good, but seriously, what's wrong? I am not dying, am I?" Naruto whipped away the tears that had fallen during his outburst.

"I'm sorry but I am not kidding. It's a rare case now a days, since it was forbidden to change humans some centuries ago. Do you know who bit you?"

Naruto gawked at him, but thought back to last night.

"Nothing really..." Then it hit him, something that had seemed like a mere dream. "... red... something red and then pain... from my neck." His eyes widened in horror as he remembered the marks on his neck. 'It can't be.'

"Hmm... I will have to turn this in. Who ever did this too you must face the consequences of his..."

"ENOUGH!" Everyone in the room jumped and turned towards Kaoru. "How dare you call my son one of Satan's demons." She hissed.

"Ma'am, please, calm down. I assure you, this is no joke." Iruka tried to calm the woman.

"No, I will not calm down, my son is no blood sucking beast!"

"Please Mrs. Uzumaki, look." Iruka pointed towards Naruto. "Naruto, open your mouth."

He did as he was told and heard a gasp coming from Kiba's direction. There, where his dull canines should be, were two fangs.

"Good Lord, please no." Naruto heard his mother say.

"Ms. U calm down." Kiba tried comforting the woman as she broke down. "It's still Naruto, it's okay."

She would have none of it. Looking up she met Naruto's clear blue eyes.

"Mom..."

"Shut up!" She screamed. "Quiet, you demon."

"Mom, it's me, Naruto." He was growing panicked; Couldn't his mother see that it was still him? He was not a monster or a vampire. It just could not be, they didn't even exist.

"No, no, you're not. No son of mine is the servant of the devil." She shrieked.

"But I _am_ your son!"

"You're no son of mine—as far as I am concerned, my son is now dead." Naruto froze at her harsh words. He could not believe that the woman before him was his mother. Then again, he was not that surprised; After all, she had developed a deep hatred of anything she did not understand or went against the bible.

Naruto felt the tears streak down his face as he watched his mother flee from the room with Dr. Umino not far behind.

"Please Mrs. Uzumaki, calm down." Iruka yelled as he left Kiba and Naruto alone.

"Naruto..." Kiba walked over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He was shocked, to say the least, about this sudden news, but he was not going to walk away from Naruto. He was his friend and he was not going to leave him alone.

He really could not believe what Naruto's mother had done—In fact, he hated her for it.

Naruto took Kiba's comfort and clung to him with all his might. He could not accept what had just happened. It was just too much to handle.

Iruka soon came back into the room looking grave.

"Naruto... I'm sorry, nothing I said helped. Your mother's gone." Naruto said nothing at this. He merely released Kiba and sat up to look at the doctor.

"She won't be coming back, will she."

Iruka sighed; He really did hate it when this happened. "I don't think so, but maybe you will meet again, and things might be different."

Naruto shook his head. "No matter how much time passes, she will never see me as her son again."

"Naruto, I am not talking about in this life." At this Naruto stared at Iruka.

"What do you mean?"

"How can I explain this... umm... Vampires—or Leben, as we call ourselves—are immortal, more or less. True, our bodies die, and like all creatures, we are reborn into new ones, yet unlike most living things, we are reborn with the memories of all our previous lives. Although, they do not begin to surface until around puberty." He explained.

"So like, I won't ever really die?"

"Nope." Naruto wasn't sure if he really liked the sound of that. "So if you are patient enough, you might be able to meet your mother again. She might not remember you, but still."

That made Naruto feel slightly better, but still his heart felt as if it had broken in some way.

"So, Doctor..."

"Iruka." He corrected Naruto, smiling kindly down at him.

"Iruka, what will happen to me?" Both Kiba and Naruto looked up expectantly at the man.

"Well, I told your mother I would care for you. She didn't say much, just said she would have your stuff sent to me."

The room went quiet for a moment as Naruto thought about it. "Where do you live, I mean, will I still be able to attend the same school and..."

"No, I don't think that will be too good. As of right now I think it would be best if you were with others like yourself. You need to learn exactly what it means to be a Leben. There is a school, a private and influential school, that all the young of our kind attend."

"So you mean I have to leave my home, my life, and my friends?" He looked to Kiba, who had a worried frown on his face, but smiled when he noticed Naruto looking.

"Hey don't worry man, I understand and I'll be sure to visit every chance I get." He gave the blond a reassuring thumbs up and smiled.

"Well then, it's settled. Naruto, welcome into our world." Iruka flashed him a smile, showing the fangs that had been hidden up until then.

_At that moment I realized that my eternal clock had begun to start. My time was finally beginning to move forward. _

_I could never look back, only forward to the future._

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_ To Be Continued . . ._

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	2. New Start

Written By: Akiru chan, Beta'ed By: Todesengal

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**Blood Stained Lilies**

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Chapter One: New Start

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"The world is round, and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning."

-Ivy Baker-

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"No freakin' way! Kiba, you're awesome!" To say that Naruto Uzumaki was happy was an understatement. The blond boy was practically jumping off the walls as he watched his friend expectantly.

"I know, I know, I'm the best." Kiba smiled brightly, handing over a decent sized box sloppily wrapped with leftover Christmas gift wrap.

It had been more than a week since the 'Incident', as Naruto had dubbed it, and everything had pretty much settled down. Naruto had finally made himself comfortable in Iruka's small house and had claimed the guest bedroom for himself.

It only took him a few hours, after his belongings had arrived, to redecorate the room to his liking. This room was smaller than his own back home, so it was rather tightly packed, but Naruto figured that he could manage.

He would have to make do; After all, going home again was no longer an option. The thought saddened him, but he would not let it hinder his life too much. In any case, he did not want Iruka to worry over him more than he already did.

The man was a mother hen, Naruto soon realized. He was always fussing over the blond if something seemed to be bothering him and took good care of all of Naruto's needs.

Despite the resentment Naruto felt for the 'creatures' that had ruined his life, he just could not bring himself to feel any hate toward Iruka. The man was hard not to love; He was just so sincere and caring, and without him Naruto would have been pretty much alone.

Well, he would have Kiba, but it was not as if he could have moved in with the brunette. Mrs. Inuzuka liked Naruto but she had made it known that she could only take the hyper blond in small doses.

Naruto couldn't really blame her, when he was with Kiba things tended to get a little...crazy, and today was no exception.

Kiba had decided to drive the thirty minute drive to Iruka's this weekend to see him since this was the last day before Naruto would leave for his new school.

It was unnerving to be entering a new school in the middle of the year let alone a school that vampires attended. Of course, the school was not explicitly for vampires, humans attended it as well. Although, the humans were not informed of this. It kind of made him wonder how many vampires he could have meet throughout his life and not even known it.

Despite all of that, Naruto would be leaving tomorrow, but today he would enjoy Kiba's company and the present that was being given to him.

"Kiba you shouldn't have, but who am I not to except such a kind offer?" Snatching the package from his friend's hands, Naruto inspected it with trained eyes.

"Hmmm... what could it be...wait...it's not going to blow up in my face is it?" It would not be the first time something to that effect happened—Let's just say chocolate pudding is not easy—or fun—to get out of your hair.

"Nah, dude, nothing's going to jump out or explode in your face." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Or in any other part of your body." He finished.

Seeming satisfied, Naruto began ripping at the nauseating paper that was decorated with chubby little elves and reindeer that looked too happy for their own good. I mean who's going to be happy about having to make toys for all the good little boys and girls? That was a lot of work—Did they even get paid?

Ridding his mind of such thoughts, Naruto turned the rather harmless looking brown box in his hands. He still did not trust Kiba enough to deem it safe. He was sure something was going to come out of it and harm him in some way.

Taking a deep breath, he gathered up his courage and opened it.

"What the..." Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he took in the contents: garlic cloves, rosaries, holy water, and was that a wooden stake?

By this time, Kiba was howling with laughter, or at least until he caught sight of Naruto.

The blond was now on the floor, writhing and hissing in pain.

Panic spread through Kiba instantly. "Oh shit, Naruto! I'm sorry, I thought...I mean Iruka said...oh God, IRUKA!!!"

Iruka ran into the room after hearing Kiba's scream. He panted from having run from the kitchen as he took in the sight before him and raised an eyebrow.

"Iruka, I don't know what happened...He's dying from the fucking garlic and shit...save him, please!" As if for emphasis, Kiba flung out the garlic to show to the utterly confused man.

Iruka scrunched up his nose, not seeming to like how close the garlic was. Staring at the scene one last time, he finally sighed, shaking his head and turning to leave.

This seemed to make Kiba panic more.

"OH GOD, there's no hope is there?! Naruto! I killed Naruto." The brunette wailed.

"Ph... ah hahahaha!" Naruto's hissing and groans of pain quickly turned into howls of uncontrollable fits of laughter.

Kiba instantly looked at the blond, his worried look shifting to a confused frown and then to a full-out glare.

"I can't believe you fell for that...hahaha...that was priceless...hahaha." As funny as it might have been, Kiba found no humor in it, none whatsoever.

"Naruto...why you bastard!" Oh this was not good. Naruto knew that tone and from past experiences he knew that it was not a good sign.

He instantly sobered and tried to calm his raging friend. "Now, Kiba, calm down, it was only a prank...it was funny, oh, come on, I know you want to laugh."

No, Kiba certainly did not want to laugh, he wanted to strangle something blond and blue eyed.

In a matter of seconds, the two boys were rolling on the floor, wrestling with each other. They knocked into furniture as they tried to get the upper hand in the situation.

Naruto seemed to be at a disadvantage being the smaller of the two boys, but he did have one trick. What the blond lacked in brawn, he made up for in speed and his uncanny ability to worm out of any hold.

"Shit, Naruto, hold still so I can knock your jaw off." Naruto paled at the threat and upped his drive to escape.

Kiba's hold tightened as he tried to keep a good grip on the boy. Naruto in turn started kicking his legs, making a well-aimed kick for the offending brown box that started it all.

The contents flew everywhere and Kiba was forced to let his friend go so that he could shield himself from the flying garlic that came his way.

"Sorry..." Naruto sat some feet away looking apologetically at Kiba. "I didn't mean to scare you."

The brunette shook his head. "Nah, it's alright, I guess I deserved it."

"Besides you should have known that wouldn't have worked. Or did you forget all that Iruka said?" Yes, Kiba remembered, it was on the same day that they had found out about Naruto's change. Iruka had told them about Hollywood's false portrayal of vampires.

Apparently, the sun did nothing to them, aside from giving a bad sun burn like it did to everyone, and crosses and garlic did nothing as well. Although garlic was a problem in one way; it stunk ten times more to vampires because of their evolved senses.

"Yeah,I know, but still you scared the hell out of me when you started spazzing on the floor like that." Looking through the pile that was now scattered everywhere, Kiba pulled out another small package that had been hidden from sight. "Here, this is your real present."

Naruto took the package, which was also wrapped in that awful paper, and began to open it carefully.

"It's a stationary set...you know, I thought it would be nice to have, since you're going away and all...this way, you can write me and we can stay in touch."

Naruto felt the tears stream down his face as he looked at the stationary set in his hands. It was such a simple gesture, but to him it meant a lot.

"Thanks, Kiba, you're the best." He hugged his friend tightly, wanting to show him just how much it all meant to him. Although he did have to ask one question.

"Why does it have pink kittens on it?" His only response was a deep and evil chuckle from Kiba.

* * *

It was official, Naruto was walking to his doom.

He was currently standing next to Iruka, looking up at a building that resembled a castle more than the school that it actually was. It was a sinister sight that made Naruto think he was walking into his own living hell.

The building seemed to be several stories tall and made from what looked like aged limestone.

'_How long has this place been here?_' Naruto wondered to himself while studying a gargoyle on one of the huge columns.

"Well Naruto, are you ready?" Said blond just nodded and followed the older man into the ominous building.

The inside was more modern and welcoming, to Naruto's relief, yet it still held the same old aged authority that the exterior exuded.

"This way, Naruto." Iruka called, walking down the hallway to the left. "We need to go to the office and get all your stuff in order, and then you can go to your dorm and get settled in."

Naruto just nodded; He was too nervous to talk, so he just followed the man. As he did so, he tried not to think of the events that were to come. He did not know how he would react to meeting other vampires besides Iruka.

"Come on, in you go." Naruto finally took in his surroundings again to see that he was being pushed through a doorway and into what he guessed to be the office.

It was a rather large room and decorated in elegant Victorian furniture that screamed just how rich this school was. It made him even wonder how he could even afford to go here.

"Oh, hello Iruka." A woman sat behind a counter and smiled at Iruka and Naruto. She seemed young and had short dark hair.

"It's good to see you Shizune. How have you been?" The woman called Shizune smiled and nodded.

"I have been well, and you?"

"Good, just a little busy, but enough of the small talk. I would like you to meet Naruto." Iruka turned towards the blond who in turn smiled up at the woman.

"Ah, Naruto, it's nice to meet you." Shizune stretched her hand over the counter to shake Naruto's.

"It's nice to meet you as well." He replied politely.

"Well, I'm sure you are eager to get settled down so I won't keep you two." She turned to look at Iruka. "Tsunade is in her office with Kakashi; They have been expecting you so go on in."

Iruka seemed to pale a bit at her words but said nothing as he waved goodbye and headed towards a door that had a brass plate with the title 'Principal' engraved in it.

Naruto began to feel nervous again as he was once again pushed into yet another room. This one was decorated the same way as the front office, yet it was not as neat. There were several papers lying about on a large wooden desk, as well as what seemed to be many empty sake bottles.

Behind the desk sat a young but stern looking woman with an impressive rack. She smiled at them as they walked in and motioned them towards one of the many chairs in the room.

"Tsunade, it's good to see you again."

"Yes, indeed it is. In fact me and Kakashi were wondering when you would come by for a visit again." Tsunade smiled and pointed to a man that Naruto had not noticed up until then.

He sat quietly in the corner reading a small orange book. Naruto couldn't help but stare at this man. He had silver hair that seemed to stand up on its own accord, yet it was the man's face that drew his attention. Upon his face was a mask of some sort that hid all of his lower face as well as a bandana of sorts covering his left eye.

"Ah, Iruka, I've missed you." Kakashi said in a smooth voice.

Naruto watched as Iruka flinched but smiled back nonetheless.

"Oh Kakashi, how have you been?"

"Not too good, but I feel so much better seeing you again."

Naruto was not sure if he wanted to know what was going on between the two, at least not with Kakashi eyeing Iruka like a piece of meat.

"Anyways..." Tsunade interrupted. "Is this the boy?"

Her eyes took in Naruto as he fidgeted under her gaze.

"Yes this is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto managed a smile.

"Well it good to have you attending my school. I hope you will find it enjoyable." She smiled warmly at him, the act managing to calm the blonde's nerves.

"Since I'm sure you are anxious to get settled in, I won't dilly dally." Tsunade shifted through a stack of papers and pulled out a small envelope attached to a light blue sheet of paper.

"Naruto, this is your dorm room number and the key to the door." She handed him the envelope. "And this is your class schedule."

Naruto took the paper and envelope and looked over them. '_Room 196_' He repeated to himself, determined to remember the three digits.

"I had your things sent to your room, so they will be there waiting for you. Also, your roommates have been informed that you will be arriving, but just in case I had Shizune call down Sakura when you arrived. She will escort you to where you will be stay."

Naruto took all this in rather quickly ,since Tsunade left no room for questions or comments.

"Now, will you please excuse us Naruto, I have important matters to discuss with Iruka."

Next thing the blond knew he was being ushered out the door and back into the main office.

"Well that was quick." He mumbled under his breath as he glared at the closed door. He was expecting a little bit more, not a 'here's your stuff have a good time' sort of thing. Then again, he wasn't even sure if he wanted a big welcoming; In fact he much rather lock himself up in a dark room and sulk in his current misery.

"Umm…Excuse me. Are you Naruto by any chance?" A girl with striking strawberry blond hair was now standing in front of him.

'_When did she get here?_' He asked himself in shock.

"Yeah, that's me." He answered her.

"Oh, well, then I am Sakura Haruno, one of your new roommates." Naruto stared at her for a second, thinking he had heard wrong.

"Roommate?" He repeated incredulously.

"Yeah." Oh God, he took back all of his other thoughts about this place. It now rocked—he had a chick, and a hot one at that, as a roommate.

"Well, if you are done gawking ,then we can get you acquainted with everything." Naruto blinked as she glared at him, realizing that he had been checking her out for the last few moments.

"Sorry." He mumbled, once again following another person.

* * *

Sakura, in Naruto's opinion, had turned out to be a pretty cool person. She had personally led him around the school, showing him where all his classes where.

He was happy to know that he had her in his Algebra and English classes. Naruto was also surprised to find out that she was indeed human.

Supposedly, she had a friend who was a vampire, hence how she knew. They had grown up together and told each other everything, so Sakura said that it was only natural for her to know her friend's secret.

Sakura was now leading him down a corridor that she said lead to the courtyard. From there they would be heading to their dorm. From what he had been able to gather from their conversations, the dorm was more of an apartment that housed six people all together.

Naruto did not know if he liked the idea of living with six other people. He could only imagine the drama that went on when living like that.

They soon came to a set of large double doors that Sakura pushed open, revealing a nicely landscaped garden.

"This is the courtyard." She announced, walking into the middle of a stone courtyard that was filled with benches.

"You can come here to hang out and read, or you can just sit and enjoy the view. It's really lovely in the spring when the flowers bloom."

Naruto looked around, this time taking in the other buildings that surrounded the courtyard. There were about seven all together: Four smaller buildings and three larger ones.

"Those are the dorms." Sakura said, noticing where Naruto's attention had gone. "The big ones are the freshmen and sophomore dorms. They also are for the older students who can't afford the apartments." The pointed at the smaller buildings. "The smaller ones are the ones we stay in. Each one houses three girls and three boys. They are three stories tall, too. The first floor is the kitchen and living room, second floor is the study and computer rooms, and the third has our bedrooms and bathrooms. Of course, the boys and girls have separate bathrooms." She explained as they began heading towards one building in particular.

"This one is ours." Sakura said as they reached the door of the third apartment. "Once we get in I'll introduce you to everyone. Don't worry, you'll like them all."

She opened the door and stepped aside so that Naruto could get through. He felt his nervousness return as he walked over the threshold and into a nicely decorated living space. It was nothing like he would expect from a school dorm.

'_This school must have major money._' He thought as he took in the decor.

"Guys, I'm back!" Sakura yelled while removing her shoes. "Come on."

They walked together into the kitchen to find a guy and a girl sitting around the kitchen table. The girl had bleach blond hair, which was hanging loosely around her face, making her bright blue eyes stand out in contrast. The guy on the other hand had dark brown hair pulled into a high pony tail, in front of him sat a glass filled with a red liquid. Naruto knew without a doubt what it was, but he did not want to think about that at the moment.

"Hey Sakura!" The blond said when she saw them enter.

"Hey Ino, Shikamaru."

"So...This is the new guy?" The girl named Ino pointed at Naruto and smirked.

"The name's Ino Yamanaka, it's nice to meet you." Naruto shook her hand in greeting and decided that he'd better get his introductions over with as fast as he could.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you as well."

The boy across from Ino nodded his head in greeting but otherwise said nothing. This seemed to be normal behavior for the boy .since Ino huffed and shook her head.

"This lazy ass over here is Shikamaru, I swear sometimes I think he is going to suffocate to death because he is too lazy to even breathe." She laughed at her little joke.

Sakura rolled her eyes at her friends. "So, Naruto, what brings you to our little school? It's not everyday we get new students, especially not ones like ourselves. Did you and your clan just move here?"

Naruto was unsure how to answer that. Should he just come out and tell him that he was new to this whole thing?

"No, I have lived somewhat near here my whole life."

"So why didn't you come here sooner? Most Leben come here on scholarships."

"Well you see, I was human up until about a week ago." The room turned quiet at Naruto's words. No one knew really what to say. Memories of the time when they had been turned resurfaced all those years ago.

Sakura, though, just stared on in mild shock, not completely understanding the whole situation.

Finally, the silence was broke when Shikamaru finally decided to speak.

"Hmm...It's so troublesome that there are still Leben evil enough out there to turn innocent humans."

Ino nodded, giving Naruto a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

"So am I." Naruto said a grim smile on his face.

"Well, I know it might not mean much coming from strangers like us, but we will be here to help you when you need it."

"Thanks." Naruto had to say that he somewhat liked Ino and Shikamaru; At least they seemed to feel his pain.

The room was once again filled with an uncomfortable silence, or that was until a low rumble filtered through the room.

Naruto laughed sheepishly as his stomach began to growl in hunger.

"You hungry?" Ino asked, pointing at his grumbling tummy.

"Nah, I shouldn't be, I ate a sandwich before coming here."

"When was the last time you fed?"

"Wha...I just said—"

"No." Ino interrupted him. "When was the last time you drank?" She lifted up Shikamaru's glass and shook it for emphasis.

Naruto paled—He had not had to drink blood since the time Iruka had force fed him, when he had fainted. From what he had been told, his craving for the red fluid would increase as time went on and the vampire blood took over.

Iruka had said that it would only take a few weeks before he would have to consume blood on a daily basis. Naruto was not sure he was ready to do that, although his only other option was to go into a coma again.

"The last time was when I was turned..." He forced out.

"Well, then, I suggest that you get some in you." Ino got up, walked to the fridge, and pulled out a gallon sized container of what Naruto knew was blood.

He watched her in horror as she poured it into a glass and handed it to him.

"Here, this will make you feel better." He could not take it, he just couldn't.

Naruto just stared at it, not being able to allow himself to indulge in such a thing. It was beastly to him, and turned his stomach.

"I can't." He whispered out.

"What?" Ino was looking at him in concern.

"I can't." He said ,a little louder.

"Naruto, its ok, you have too." Ino pressed.

"I CAN'T!!!" This time it was screamed as Naruto slapped the glass for the blondes hands sending it crashing to the ground.

"I'm sorry." Naruto mumbled when he realized what he had done.

"It's ok, I underst—"

"What the hell is going on?" Ino's words were cut off as another boy stomped into the room.

Naruto's eyes widened as he took the newcomer in. He was handsome to say the least, with jet-black hair and eyes that stood out from his smooth, pale skin.

"Sasuke, we're sorry. It's just the new guy is going through a lot right now. He was just turned a week ago." Sakura said in apology.

Sasuke snorted in indifference before turning towards Naruto.

"I don't care what kind of problems you are hav...ing... Na... Naruto..." Sasuke stared in disbelief as he looked into cerulean depths.

Naruto did even think as to why this boy knew his name, all he could concentrate on were those onyx eyes and the feeling that stirred within him that made him feel as if the boy in front of him meant something to him.

It was an idiotic feeling Naruto knew, after all there was no way they had ever known each other. Not in this life, at least.

* * *

_To Be Continued . . ._

* * *


	3. Memories

Written By: Akiru chan, Beta'ed By: Todesengal

* * *

Chapter Two: Memories

* * *

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. "

-From the television show The Wonder Years-

* * *

_The spring breeze blew across the flat farmland and through the stalks of golden wheat. They swayed, glowing gently in the light from the sun. Everything seemed so peaceful and calm; then again, the happily shining sun can be very deceiving. _

_Amongst the wheat ran a boy, no older than fifteen, his golden hair flowing as he fled to his destination. His body screamed in pain, his muscles contracted and blood flowed freely down his brow, yet he kept moving. He had to keep moving. _

_It was a pitiful sight, to watch one so young suffer so much. _

_He fell then, yelling out as he fell heavily on his knees on the dry soil. Things were not supposed to be like this. This was not supposed to happen. It was wrong, so wrong. _

_Yet the boy still could not help but ask himself why? Why had it been so horrible? Why was what he had done so bad? Why couldn't he love? _

_Crying thick tears, he got back onto his feet and fixed his gaze on the forest a few feet away. He knew that he would find him there. He needed to see him, just one more time. He needed to tell him, tell him that everything was ok. That what had happened was not his fault, that he did not want him to blame himself when he was gone. _

_Smiling sadly through the pain, he ran towards the edge of the trees. He only hoped that the one person he cared about more than anything else could live once he was gone; after all, once he went back, he would die. _

_From the forest, another boy stood waiting for the blond, just like he always did. He was unaware of the troubling news that would soon be brought to him in mere minutes. Soon his whole world would crumble, and for the second time in his life, he would be completely powerless to do anything. He would again lose everything. _

_He would just stand there in panicked shock as the blond reached him, wishing that his eyes deceived him. He would take in the other boy's appearance with pained eyes and guilt would overwhelm him, consuming him and dragging him into a darkness greater than he had ever known existed. _

_He would just curl up and sink back into the sorrow and pain. It was not an unfamiliar feeling; However, he wished now, more than ever, that he could truly die._

* * *

Sasuke frowned at the bitter memory, one he wished never to remember again. It was of a time long ago, although the memory itself felt as fresh as if it happened only yesterday.

'_Damn it_' He cursed mentally as he continued to stare at the boy in front of him. Guilt in its purest form flowed through him, making him want to fall to his knees. That face... he was never supposed to look upon that face ever again. It should be a sin after what he had done.

He was supposed to live on in his guilt and misery. That was his punishment for the pain he had caused in his past. Alone to walk a path drenched in darkness.

"Sasuke?" Sakura had turned to the raven. Her voice was full of concern; It wasn't everyday one saw someone like Sasuke look so stricken. It was as if he was trying to pull broken pieces of himself together, but failing miserably.

It confused the onlookers and worried them, and even Naruto was unsure of what to say or do.

He felt such a connection towards Sasuke that it frightened him to no end. As a result, Naruto felt an irrelevant hatred for the boy. He did not want to feel anything for monsters such as him.

Naruto knew that Sasuke was a vampire, of course, he knew it the moment the boy walked into the room. It was like an aura that radiated off him.

Suddenly Sasuke tensed, his body going ridged and his fist clenching. He set piercing eyes upon Naruto and spoke in a shaky voice that he hoped he could keep steady.

"Suck it up moron, drink up and get over it." With that being said, Sasuke fled from the room, but not before taking another pained glance at Naruto.

Naruto just blinked as his body went numb. Every feeling that was running through him seemed to be sucked away as Sasuke left the room. He felt utterly alone and unprotected.

It was odd, but Naruto saw better to brush the feeling aside and forget it ever happened. If he pursued this, he knew that it would only lead to unwanted trouble, and trouble was not what he wanted at the moment.

"Well, that was different." Ino was now on the ground picking up the shards of glass and the puddle of blood from the broken cup on the floor.

The voice seemed to be the much needed break in the tense silence that had fallen over the room.

"Is he always like that?" Naruto asked, not really caring to hear the answer, but wanting to keep a conversation going. He had always found that it was easier to forget uncomfortable things when you occupied yourself with idle chitchat.

"Who, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, a tad unnecessarily.

Naruto nodded, watching the blood as it spread out onto the white linoleum before being mopped up, leaving the floor clean. No one would ever know that human blood had sat there.

"Well he is usually quiet and to himself..."

"And moody." Ino interrupted.

She received a frown from Sakura, who ignored her and continued.

"I don't know what was up with him just now..." She thought for a moment, tapping her chin with her finger. It was a habit she had developed when she was little. "He seemed like he knew you though... or at least recognized you."

"This is the first time I have ever seen him." Sakura considered him for a moment.

Naruto, now that Sakura had mentioned it, felt unnerved by the fact that Sasuke did indeed seem to know him. '_How did he know my name?_' It was a question that Naruto was unsure whether or not he wanted answered.

"Hmm... maybe it was something else, then. I don't know too much about him. After all, I am a human. Ino though... she might know something."

Ino looked up from where she was sitting on the floor, now leaning against a cabinet.

"Hmm...Sasuke? He is an interesting person, or his past is at least, so I hear. I was _born_ some hundred years after this all happened so I am just going by what I have been told. Sasuke doesn't talk about it, so it's pointless to ask him."

Sakura took a seat at the table and motioned Naruto over.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a long story." Naruto took the seat offered to him between Sakura and Shikamaru, who seemed to be asleep.

Settling down he watched Ino as she sat on the floor, and waited intently to hear the story.

"To tell this story I will have to start at the very beginning when the first vampire was born. Back when the world was still young and the people were filled with evil and sin. It all started in Germany, in a small farming town. They were a peaceful people with nothing special, at least not in the form of gold or natural monuments. What they did have was a special someone.

She was a beautiful woman with long amber locks and lovely green eyes. The villagers adored her, for she was a gifted healer. They said that she had been born in God's favor and was blessed with the power to heal the sickened and weak.

It was said that there was not a person that she could not heal. It was a mighty big boast, so soon many travelers came to her, seeking her powers.

Like all the ones before them, they were healed. Nothing seemed incurable at her hand, and she was soon revered and loved by all... but one. Lucifer, heaven's fallen angel, himself was infuriated by the woman. No disease or plague he sent her way could over come her. It angered him to be outdone by a human, and a woman no less.

He was determined to make her pay. Yet that too was difficult to get around; after all, she was favored by the same Lord that had cast him to hell. He could not harm or curse her, but there was another way. If he could not harm her, than he would make her family suffer, and in turn she shall feel the pain of her loved ones."

Ino took a breath and looked around her. Everyone was listening intently—even Shikamaru was awake now. She loved retelling stories; in one of her previous lives, she had been a storyteller when she had grown old. She still remembered the happy and anxious faces of the children who would come to listen to her.

Smiling to herself, she continued.

"Taking the form of a handsome man, he came up to her from hell. He put on a good farce, he treated her kindly and slowly his plan began to move along as she fell in love with him, and that was when he finally made his move. When he finally had her alone and unguarded, he attacked, raping her in the most horrible of ways. Taking the virginity of something so pure was very satisfying to him, but it was not enough.

He would make sure that the child and any children she had after that would be cursed to be monsters that lived only for bloodlust.

After the event, the young woman was in despair. She had been deceived and violated, yet she carried the child full term and gave birth to a lovely daughter with onyx locks and even darker eyes. Sadly though, she could not see her daughter grow and live for the birth had been more difficult than expected and she ended up bleeding to death from a torn cervix."

Sakura cringed at this and Naruto made a face. Childbirth was not something he had any interest in... it just sounded too pain full. He didn't even see the reason for Ino to have to mention the exact cause of death. Yet after seeing her smirk, she decided that she was doing it just for the reactions she was receiving from her listeners.

"The girl ended up growing up into a fine young woman with no sign of a curse being placed upon her. That was, until she hit her sixteenth year of life. It was in that year that her thirst came to be. It did not take her long before she became crazed by it all and took her own life soon after.

If only it was that easy. A decade later, she was reborn, and again on her sixteenth year her thirst returned along with her memories. Everything seemed so unreal; she had lived before. This was her second life."

Naruto couldn't say he blamed the girl for taking the path she had. If Naruto could, he was sure he would take his own life. If only it was possible.

"It was again so tempting to take her life but she did not see the use if she was only going to be reborn again. So this time around, she tried to live, but still it was so lonely. She wanted others to relate to. Others that would suffer along with her. As they say misery loves company." Ino laughed dryly.

"Soon she had a small family of sorts. They kept to themselves for the most part, adding a new human to the group every once in a while. It went on like that for some years until she finally died again... this time of old age.

It was at least a century before she was reborn again. By that time, the vampires had been given the name 'leben' for the eternal life they had acquired.

When her memories returned and she reentered the world she had created, she was surprised to see how much the vampires had grown in number. Humans too had began to grow suspicious, as the vampires began to flaunt their power. That's how we came into human myth and horror.

Sadly, there was little she could do at that time... that was, until she met 'him'. He was a wealthy business man who had met her while visiting Germany. She instantly fell in love with him... It was love at first sight." Ino sighed dreamily, earning her a snort from Shikamaru.

She only glared at him and then at Naruto when he began to snicker.

"I don't know what you find so funny. Love at first sight is just so romantic."

"Ino please, can you possibly get back to the story." Sakura finally spoke up, trying to save Naruto from the future pounding he was bound to get if he kept it up. He had yet to learn how scary the blond girl could be.

"Fine, fine... now where was I... Oh yes... She fell in love with him, and soon got married. Now keep in mind that he was a human. They ended up having a daughter who shared characteristics of both parents... even the unsightly ones. It was like all the others, upon her sixteenth year she acquired the thirst and began to feed upon the blood of humans. Her father was soon confronted with this unsightly fact and demanded answers from his wife.

She told him the truth, of course, and because he loved her so much, he accepted it and even requested to be turned into vampire like herself. Now everything after that is pretty much unimportant except for the fact that they had to wait many years before fate smiled on them and they met again. We have no control over when we are reborn so it's sometimes impossible to be with our loved ones again... sometimes you will meet them, but they might be just a baby while you are pushing thirty.

Okay... Like in their previous life together, they got married and had another child, this time a boy. It was a truly special thing though. This boy was a true vampire... never human in his life, with his own soul and not one reborn. They figured it had something to do with his mother being a true vampire... one that had also never been human. Her genes enabled such a thing.

Some years later they had a second son who turned out just like the first. A fresh soul, untainted by human desires. Now this is when everything gets fuzzy and I don't have much details to say about this... only Sasuke knows the true story." Her gaze shifted towards the doorway that Sasuke had left through earlier.

"The eldest son for whatever reason... I still can't see why he would do it, although the power he received from it was probably a main factor. Anyways... He killed his whole family except for his younger brother. Most would not be bothered too much by this, yet this murder was not meant for them to be reborn again. No, the oldest son made sure that his mother and father would never step on this earth again. He preformed a taboo art; he ate their hearts, and in doing so, their souls as well.

Without a soul, a vampire cannot be reborn. If vampires have only one strict rule, then it would be against the destruction of their brethren.

It is not just the act of murder that is so taboo; it's also the unthinkable powers that come with consuming a vampire's soul. It is a ticket to never ending life... you can no longer die or age, stuck forever in your ageless body."

"So you mean that this guy is still around." Naruto interrupted her, not liking the way this story was now going. Could a monster that horrible still be alive? He really didn't want to consider that. Then again, it made no sense. How did all of this pertain to Sasuke? "Also... How does this all pertain to Sasuke?" He said mimicking his thoughts.

"Hmm... I thought you would figure it out by now. Sasuke was that man's younger brother—he is the only survivor of the main family. The last of the true vampires... aside from his brother... and the Hyuugas, but that's a story I'd rather not get into... rather confusing. It shows what horrors human blood can do to a vampire line.

Anyway, Sasuke has been dead set on killing his brother since then. Although he went into some kind of hibernation or something a few lives after his family's murder. I'm not sure what you would call it. All I know is that he supposedly killed himself and was not reborn until this lifetime, some hundred years later. Your guess is as good as mine as to what could have happened." Ino ended the story with a shake of her head.

"Well it's getting late, and I need to jump in the shower." She got up and left the room quietly. Everyone seemed to be in deep thought—well, everyone except Shikamaru, who seemed to be asleep again.

Naruto sat there, his eyes trained on the floor. He thought he had it rough with his life now, but he couldn't even begin to imagine what Sasuke had gone through. It made him feel lucky to still have his mom no matter how she felt about him.

It amazed him how someone could even live through something like that—then again, did Sasuke even have a choice? If he killed himself he would just be reborn, and Naruto doubted that he could find someone willing to eat his heart unless it was his brother.

His brother. The thought sent chills down his spine. Naruto didn't know what he would do if he even met someone like that. A person who could kill their whole family for power. Could a person even be that horrible? Naruto was sure that only a monster could be that heartless.

"Hmm... So Sasuke's mother was the first vampire. That's pretty impressive. I always wondered why the others treated him almost like royalty. Sucks about his family though... Maybe I could offer him some comfort." Sakura smiled wistfully at the thought of possibly getting closer to the handsome Uchiha. It was a goal in her life that she had yet to give up on—it was just so hard considering how reclusive Sasuke was.

"You like him?" It was a simple question, but it made Sakura blush nonetheless. She turned to look at Naruto's inquisitive face.

"Umm... well... I guess a little... I mean how can you resist someone who looks like... him." She stuttered a bit but kept her eyes trained in on Naruto's. "Why... is there something wrong with that?" She quirked an eyebrow and looked at him questionably.

Without him even realizing it, he had let a frown slide onto his face. It was a completely irrational response, he didn't even care what Sakura felt for the guy. Hell, he didn't even know him, yet he sat there feeling irritated by her words and maybe a little bit jealous.

'_Damn, what's with me?_' He shook his head quickly. _'Pull yourself together Naruto._' He told himself.

"Nothing, I was just thinking. Sorry Sakura."

"Will you two shut up? I am trying to sleep." Both turned to the previously sleeping Shikamaru.

"Sorry Shika, we'll leave you be. I gotta show Naruto his room anyways." She said hoisting herself up from the table. "Have a goodnight."

"Yeah, yeah." After having said that, he let his head fall back to the table with a dull thud.

"Come on, Naruto."

"What? You're just going to let him sleep there?"

Sakura just laughed. "Yeah, Shikamaru is a strange one. He pretty much sleeps wherever he currently is... One time we found him asleep with the shower. He says it's too troublesome to get up and head to bed when he is tired... then again, he says everything is troublesome."

"That's because it is." They both turned back to the supposedly sleeping boy.

"Yeah, we know Shika." Shaking her head, she led Naruto out of the room. It was already getting to be late in the afternoon and she was sure that Naruto would want to get into bed early. He was probably stressed out and tired.

"Come on, your room is upstairs." They walked up two flights of stairs and onto the third and topmost floor. This floor looked more contemporary than the rest of the decor on campus. The walls were painted dark red and the accents in the room were a light cream color.

"Your room is down the left hall... and the bathrooms are at the very back." Sakura pointed at the farthest door with a sigh that said 'men' on it.

They walked down the hall together, but stopped as one of the doors opened revealing the last person Naruto wanted to see again any time soon.

Sasuke stood there, scowling at Naruto. His face was—if possible—even paler that it had been hours ago. It was an eerie sight, as if he was a ghost or something.

'_What the hell is his problem._' Naruto thought as Sasuke turned around and slammed the door shut again. Whatever it was that the Uchiha had come out for, it seemed to be less important than avoiding Naruto. He knew that was exactly what Sasuke was beginning to do. He was not an idiot... or more like moron as the raven had so eloquently put it.

Something had definitely crawled up his ass. Naruto only hoped he would fish it out sometime soon or seek medical help. Being that much of a bastard could not be healthy.

Acting as if nothing had happened, Sakura steered Naruto to the room opposite Sasuke's.

"This one is yours." She opened it and pushed him in. "Get some sleep and be sure to be up by seven so you can get some breakfast. Classes start at eight. Goodnight." That being said she hurried up and dashed off to her room in the opposite hall. She did not like the tension that was beginning to brew. Her instincts told her to stay out of it.

Well at least this would prove to be an interesting year if nothing else. Although Naruto had a strange feeling that it would be anything but calm.

* * *

_To Be Continued . . ._

* * *


	4. Broken

_A/N - Well got the next chapter up... although I little later than what I had said... its not my fault. Blame the parents, they are the ones who kept me from bring my computer with me camping. XD_

_Anyways, this chapter is... umm... angst... maybe... I don't know... you tell me..._

_Hope you enjoy.  
_

_Beta'ed by __Todesengal!! Luv ya girl! She makes me seem smarter than I really am. XD_

* * *

**Blood Stained Lilies **

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Chapter Three: Broken

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"Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever."

-Unknown-

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The harsh ring of an alarm clock sounded off the walls of the small room. It was still dark; obviously early morning. Everything seemed to still be asleep in the world except for the faint chirping of birds that could be heard outside.

Naruto groaned at the irritating sound of the clock. It was way too early for such a racket. Then again, he was never a morning person to begin with.

In the past, it had always taken his mother's insistent yells and threats to get him up in the morning. Now, though, he had no one to gripe at him to get up, and no one to care enough to force him out of bed.

It was then in the comfort of his blankets and the knowledge that he was alone, that he allowed the silent tears to flow.

Not once since his mother had disowned him had he cried. In some part of his mind, he had hoped that she would be there the next time he opened his eyes, or that she would come back to him with her arms held wide opened in a welcoming hug.

Naruto knew now that it would never be the same, and with that knowledge came the pain he had been trying to suppress for so long.

In a way, it felt good to let the tears fall and let his emotions run free. It was him breaking down for the first time, and it felt so good not to have to put on a happy front.

He would, for this morning only, let his sorrow out so that never again would he have to look back on his life and feel the emptiness again. For Naruto, this was the final step before he could put his past behind him, and along with it his humanity.

* * *

Sakura was in the kitchen making her breakfast when Naruto finally came downstairs. He was clean from his shower and fully dressed in the school's uniform. The black slacks and light blue button up shirt flattered his frame.

The uniforms also consisted of a black blazer, but they were not required to wear it since it was usually only worn during winter. Today, though, promised a perfect autumn day.

The girl's uniform was similar with a black skirt, light blue blouse, and a black fitted jacket for the colder weather.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Sakura greeted as she made her way to the table with a bowl of some colorful cereal. With her sat a girl he had not yet met. She looked at him when Sakura addressed him but quickly looked away, blushing.

She was rather pretty, Naruto thought, with her long ebony locks, but he wasn't interested. He saw the glass sitting next to her, filled with the ominous red liquid. She was a vampire and he really didn't care to get involved with her.

"Good morning, Sakura." Naruto replied with a smile, once the strawberry blond had sat down.

"I hope you slept well."

"Heh, yeah, more or less... it was just strange sleeping in a new place, ya know?"

Sakura nodded in understanding. She always had a hard time adjusting when she came back after the holidays. It was mostly because she missed her family and her dog.

"I know how it is. But don't worry, the Christmas holidays are coming up in a few months so you will be able to go back home to your family." Sadly, she did not know that her comforting words had the exact opposite effect on Naruto.

He had no family to go back to, but he had already promised himself to forget about it. So, mustering up the strength, he forced a large smile on his face.

"Yeah, you're right Sakura. I will be back home before I know it."

"Well, then, I suggest you come and get some breakfast so we can get this day done and over with." Despite not being hungry – food just didn't appeal to him anymore – Naruto got a bowl of cereal as well and sat down. He knew what he wanted, but he was not going to give into that need. Naruto just could not accept the fact that he now needed blood to survive.

He sat there poking his cereal, nibbling on it from time to time.

"So Naruto, I don't think you have met Hinata yet." She pointed at the black haired girl from before. It was strange how Naruto had forgotten all about her. She was just so quiet, and if Naruto was not mistaken, very shy as well.

"Naruto... Hinata, Hinata... Naruto." Sakura made the introduction and waited for the two to start talking. Unfortunately, both stayed rather quiet. Naruto seemed to be waiting for Hinata to say something, but she did not seem willing.

Finally though, when Sakura thought it would go on forever, Naruto finally spoke.

"Its very nice to meet you Hinata." He gave her a dazzling smile that had her blushing in seconds.

"It's... v-very nice to... meet you...t-too." She stuttered in a little more than a whisper.

Naruto just kept on smiling; he had to admit that the girl was rather cute... in a weird shy way. He reminded her of a friend he used to have. She was always soft spoken but hell if you made her mad, then you'd better be running for your life.

That girl had a mean streak a mile long. Naruto snickered at the fond memory. It was simple but it seemed to lift his bad mood and soon enough he was smiling a true smile.

"What is it Naruto? What's so funny?" Naruto shook his head.

"It's nothing Sakura. I was just thinking."

The rest of breakfast was then eaten in a comfortable silence. It was a good start to the day. Maybe this life would not be so bad after all. Naruto hoped that he might find that little bit of heaven in this hell he had been forced into.

Then again, that thought didn't last long when Sakura stood, stating that they had fifteen minutes to get to class. Who was he kidding, as long as school existed, hell would always prevail.

"I'll be there in a minute. I have to grab my stuff. I forgot to get it together last night, so don't wait up for me." He explained it all in a hurry as he ran up the stairs leaving Sakura frowning by the door.

"That boy, I swear..." Sakura just shook her head as Hinata let out a small giggle.

"I think he is rather sweet and humorous."

"Whatever you say Hinata." But Sakura, too, had a small smile on her face as she walked out the door. Maybe this year would be a little less boring with the blond boy around.

* * *

Naruto rushed around his room, trying to locate all of his wayward school supplies.

So far, all he could find was his school bag and a few pencils.

"Dammit!" He swore when he hit his head on the bottom of his bed. Naruto didn't think that anything would have made it under his bed in the amount of time that he had been here, but he wasn't putting it past some ill humored god to conveniently place some of his belongings there.

'_Shit, shit, shit._' He only had five minutes left. '_I swear I am forever cursed to be late for class'_ Even at his old school he had never made it on time.

Making a mad sprint to his closet, Naruto flung the door open and began digging through the bags that had been brought up to him the day before.

"Thank God!" An orange notebook and some other supplies came into sight, and Naruto felt like jumping up and doing a rather unorthodox dance. Luckily, time was too precious at the moment to do such things.

Somehow Naruto managed to sweep up all his supplies in his arm and ran to the door. They had to be shifted in his hands so that he could turn the doorknob. He was in too much of a hurry to try and organize everything in his bag.

'_Come on, just a little further.'_ His fingers stretched out, wrapping around the cool metal of the doorhandle.

The handle turned slowly and Naruto pushed forward, a little too hard in his hast. Everything was chaos as he fell through the doorway and into the hall. His things flung everywhere in an unorganized heap.

Naruto braced himself to feel the hard surface of the floor. This just marked the end of his good day.

"Gah..." He met the floor, but it wasn't hard. Wait, why was the floor moving.

Naruto knew that something was off.

"You idiot! Get off me." Naruto immediately turned his head to stare into a rather pissed face.

"Oh... Sasuke?" It was more of a question. Naruto had not even noticed the raven haired boy. Then again that could have been because he had been too busy falling.

Sasuke was not happy, not in the least. He had been trying to avoid the blond all morning and this is where it got him, a little too close. He had even gone so far as to head out late. Sasuke was sure that Naruto would leave early with Sakura. Sadly, he had been mistaken.

So now here he sat on the floor with Naruto sprawled on top of him. It was odd how familiar it felt to have that warmth consume him again after so many years. It brought back so many different memories, both good and bad.

It made him feel so overwhelmed. Oh, how he wished that he could relive those memories. Sasuke had to remember, though ,that the boy before him was not the same as from his memories.

"Sorry... shit... I really didn't know you were there... gah... I am such a klutz." Then again, he was the same bumbling idiot that Sasuke remembered.

"You have that right, moron." Sasuke pushed himself up as Naruto got up and onto his feet, brushing himself off.

"Yeah well, at least I said I was sorry." He mumbled to himself, not wanting to meet the other boy's eyes. It was creepy to see such familiarity within there dark depths.

"Next try using what little of a brain you have." Sasuke taunted, getting up to his feet.

"Sorry Bastard, but not all of us can have smart-ass heads like yours. I am surprised you can even fit through doorways."

Sasuke knew that he should have been angered at the comment, but it just felt so right. The banter between the two, the silly name calling. It was all like before, just so much different.

He could only let a smirk fall upon his face as he turned away. '_This guy is a complete air head. I can't stand him._' The thought only made his smirk grow.

"Come on. You're going to be later than you already are if you continue standing there in La La Land."

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto huffed, it was all he could do. Arguing would get him nowhere. Although it was rather pleasing yelling at the vampire.

Then again, Naruto always did enjoy making the lives of the jocks and preps at his old school miserable.

He didn't go a day without pulling some type of prank on them. Most of the time he landed in the office but he always thought it was worth it.

"So Idiot... What class do you have first?" Sasuke's calm voice floated into Naruto's thoughts making him frown.

"For one my name is Naruto, and second why do you care?"

"I know what your name is." Sasuke just couldn't bring himself to say it. The last time he had truly addressed the blond, his name had been filled with so much love and sadness as it left his lips. He was unsure if he could say that name without giving away emotions he had tried so hard to block away from the world.

It was easier for him to keep hidden behind a dark wall in his heart. Sasuke could not afford to let it break now.

"Also I was _trying_ to be nice and help you find your first class." He received a suspicious glance from Naruto. The blond was unsure if he should trust Sasuke's sudden kindness.

Deciding to take his chances, Naruto handed over his schedule.

"Hmmm... Pre-Cal with Asuma, German Studies with Kakashi, English with Jiraiya, Advance Biology with Kurenai, Art with Genma, Government with Ibiki, and Athletics with Gai. Well I can assure you that you will have an interesting year with the teachers you have." Sasuke seemed amused by the thought. "Also you seem to have a few classes with me."

"And those would be?" They were walking across the plaza now. The breeze was blowing slightly, giving them a slight chill.

"German Studies, English, and Art." Sasuke informed him. "Oh and lunch."

Naruto took this in, nodding his head in reply. He was beginning to feel odd, so he kept silent. It felt as if his head had been submerged in water. Everything had a weird echo to it. His hands were beginning to feel heavy and numb.

"Hey... what's the matter?" Sasuke had noticed that Naruto had stopped in his progression to the main building.

The blond had a faraway look on his face that made Sasuke slightly concerned. '_What the hell is wrong now?_' He couldn't help but think. From the way things were looking, the two of them were not going to be getting to class anytime soon.

Naruto had begun to sway on his feet by the time Sasuke got to his side. It was good timing to since it seemed like the blond could no longer hold up his own body weight, causing him to fall to his knees on the freshly cut lawn.

"Shit, come on moron, snap out of it." Naruto received a sharp slap in the face, bringing him somewhat out of his daze.

He felt so disconnected from the world, and thirst he felt was intolerable. He needed to satisfy his thirst. That was what his body screamed for.

"Sasuke... so... thirsty..." It was barely audible but Sasuke caught it, and just like that everything made sense. The incident last night, Naruto's refusal to drink blood, and now this fatigue.

"Hey, Listen to me! When was the last time you drank?" Naruto didn't answer; he wasn't even sure if he could if he had wanted to. His whole body was shutting down, just like last time. He couldn't let it happen.

Sasuke on the other hand had calmed down some, now that he knew what was wrong with the blond. All he needed was blood. '_The idiot. Why the hell did he go on this long without feeding. He should know better.'_

He gently laid the blond on the grass, making sure not to jostle him too much. Luckily Sasuke carried a bottle of the red liquid around with him just incase he had a sudden craving. The last thing he needed was to jump a poor unsuspecting human. He would hear it from Tsunade for sure if that ever happened.

Removing his book bag from his shoulder, he began to dig around within it. He pushed aside his binders and notebooks to reveal a black sports bottle with what looked to be a logo branded on the front.

"You better thank me for this later." Sasuke bit open the top of the bottle that would now allow the liquid to flow free from its confines.

His heart quickened when he held Naruto close, it felt déjà vu. In another time, in another body, Sasuke could remember a scene similar to this.

He made sure to lift Naruto's head up just enough so that the blood could flow down his throat easily without the possibility of choking him. That was the last thing Sasuke needed right now on his conscious. Choking Naruto while trying to force feed him blood. That would look really good on his record. Then again he probably wouldn't be alive long enough to even have to worry about that.

Carefully he placed the tip of the bottle against Naruto's dry lips.

"Come on, open your damn mouth." The blond complied, welcoming the onslaught of cool blood as it poured into his mouth.

Naruto felt disgusted with himself, but even that did not change the fact that it felt wonderful. The rich blood felt so smooth and sweet as it slid down his throat, making his body tingle with new life. Never before had he tasted something so absolutely wonderful. It was like a forbidden fruit that he had been denying himself for so long.

Eventually as the last drop fell into his waiting mouth, Naruto began to feel normal again. His head felt as clear as ever. Everything felt just as it had when he woke up this morning.

"Thanks, Sasuke." He said, trying to get to his feet.

"You need to be more careful. I'm glad I was here when it happened. Be sure to have at least a glass a day. Didn't you know what you were getting yourself into when you asked to get bitten?" Sasuke was ranting on not paying attention to Naruto's reaction. Upon his last sentence though, Naruto spoke, in an eerily calm voice.

"Who ever said it was my choice to become _This_."

Sasuke watched him for a moment confused as his sudden reaction.

"You think I wanted to be a monster?" Naruto growled out, his eyes blazing with fury.

Sasuke flinched at the words but kept his face neutral. He did not know the circumstances behind Naruto's change. It hurt him to think that the blond had decided to go through with it now, when he had been so against all those years before. Now though as he heard the words spilling from his mouth he felt a rage for whoever brought this malice upon the blond.

"You didn't want this?"

"You think I wanted to be a blood sucking freak? Oh hell, if so you have another thing coming." Naruto was breaking, he knew that. All the emotions were coming back. He wanted them to stay locked up, but it felt so good to let it out. "It ruined my life! I lost so much because of this. I lost my mother, my friends, my fucking life, Sasuke!"

"Start a new life. Forget everything that has happened before." Naruto glared at the raven—How dare he even say such a thing?

"That's easy for you to say! Did you see the hatred in your mother's eyes as she was told what you had become? Did she call you a monster, Satan's child? Did she abandon you without a hope left in the world? How can you ask me to forget something like that. You don't know how it feels to be suddenly all alone, to be a monster!" Naruto roared.

"Hn. You talk too much for being so naive. You think I don't know what its like to lose everything? Let me ask you this. Do you know what it's like to see your whole family killed before your very eyes, and by the brother you had loved so much? Can you even imagine what it feels like to be bathed in their blood? Or maybe you know how it feels to see the one you love above all else die and know that you are the one that caused his death." What could Naruto say to that? He had forgotten the pain Sasuke had gone through. To Sasuke, Naruto must have looked like whimpering child that had just lost his teddy.

He had no right to complain about his life to someone who had, had it so much worse.

"All I can say to you is get the hell over it. You're weak to think that your life has ended just because some bad things happen. Remember this, it can always be worse." The words were hissed this time. Sasuke was losing his patience. Why couldn't Naruto see that despite everything he still was lucky? His mother was still alive, his friends still breathing on this earth. He still had a good life to live.

Sasuke, though, his life was a cursed existence. His brother had made sure of that.

"Shut up, just shut up."

"Oh what? Did I hit a nerve? Are you going to cry for me now?" He had to stop, he was going too far, he knew that but still be could not stop. "Aw, suck it up."

Naruto shook with rage, he understood Sasuke's words but he could not believe them. "What do you know, you're a monster."

"Heh, me a monster? No, my brother is a monster. Me, on the other hand, I am just Sasuke, I am who I choose to be." Black eyes bore deep into blue. "But you, are you a monster? What do you choose to be?"

"I hate you." Words came out of Naruto's mouth before he could do anything. "I HATE YOU!" He screamed, cutting Sasuke deep.

In that moment as Naruto ran towards the main building, Sasuke realized that he still loved the blond idiot more than ever. Still though Sasuke felt the same hate towards himself as Naruto did.

How could he do what he had just done? He had just pushed away his last hope of happiness. The sun in his dark world had set once again and this time he was flushed into a perpetual blackness that seemed hopeless to escape from.

In a time like this only one word seemed to fly from his parted lips.

"Fuck."

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

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_A/N - Ok so yeah... Sasuke has problems with keeping his mouth shut... does that make him OOC??? I think I am keeping them in character... but I am not sure..._

_So anyways you all know the drill — REVIEW — and I will update faster... It's like my payment for writing. LOL._


	5. Monster

Beta'ed By: Todesengal

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**Blood Stained Lilies**

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Chapter Four: Monster

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"Walking into the night, I see the truth within the darkness and cry unwanted tears for what I have become."

- Me -

* * *

It was exactly thirty minutes later, after his run-in with Sasuke, that Naruto sat in German Studies feeling irritated and guilty. Irritated because he was now sitting in a class full of vampires, learning about _their _history.

Who would have thought that a class called German Studies was about vampire history? Then again, it was a clever cover-up. The human students would never know the difference. Naruto could deal with that class, more or less, but it was the guilt that was getting to him.

He shouldn't feeling that way for what had transpired earlier. Sasuke totally deserved what he had said. He hated the raven-haired boy. He really did!

Naruto sighed. If only that sounded as convincing in his head as it did out loud. Hate, though, was too strong of a word. Naruto could admit to that. He felt something more akin to dislike.

Despite that, it still hurt him to see the pain flicker across Sasuke's face as he yelled 'I hate you'. Why it hurt him, Naruto didn't know. After all Sasuke was the last person that he cared about.

The raven-haired boy was just such a bastard. Granted, he did have his moments when he tried to be helpful, but so far those had been few and far between.

Naruto stole a glance across the room. Sasuke sat there his eyes straight ahead. His face was blank, giving away nothing of what he felt. On the inside, however, was a different story; in reality, Sasuke was in turmoil.

Naruto's words still rung within his mind, making his heart ache. It was just like before, back when they had first met. Naruto had been as hot headed as ever, not letting the young Uchiha get away with the foul words he had used. In the end, they had ended up brawling.

If he remembered correctly, it was that fight that had brought them together. Then again, that was then, and this was now.

They were two different Narutos, no matter how similar they seemed. It hurt to think just how similar they were. They had the same golden, sun-kissed hair and deep blue eyes. Their personalities were also quite similar. The only difference was that this Naruto did not speak Sasuke's name with affection. Sasuke could not have the Naruto that was with him now; it was a thought that cut him deep.

He would do anything to have that blond in his arms again. To have his warm lips brush against his ear as he muttered sweet nothings.

'_Shit, I have to keep my mind on something else._' Thinking of such things would only bring him pain. In truth, he guessed that Naruto was the lucky one. He would never have to remember the horrors of their past, and he would never have to know of Sasuke's betrayal. It was better this way.

After what Sasuke had done, he did not even deserve to have Naruto look upon him, whether it was with affection or hate. He was the real cause of the events that caused their lives to be torn apart.

'_I lied to him._' Sasuke thought. '_I really am a monster.'_

His eyes traveled towards the windows and to where Naruto sat.

Sasuke was shocked to see a pair of sky blue eyes staring back at him from across the room.

Naruto smiled at him, sending him an apologetic look before turning away.

Naruto couldn't stay mad any longer. He had to get this off his chest, so he did the only thing he could. He gave Sasuke his forgiveness.

Sasuke smiled to himself when Naruto turned away. He would take all he could get from the blond. For now, his past would be forgotten, at least until the next time it decided to haunt him, showing him that he could never have his happily ever after.

* * *

The rest of class was spent listening to their teacher, Kakashi, as he lectured about what they would learn this year. Everything seemed pretty boring to Naruto. He really didn't care to know who the first vampire was to win a Nobel peace prize.

After all, why did they have to take this class? Why did vampires even have to go to school at all if they remembered everything from their past lives? Naruto understood why he had to, but the others he didn't know why they had to be here.

"Ok, next time I expect you all to have read chapter one. There will be a quiz on it so be sure you understand it." Kakashi told his students as they grumble, packing up their things. "Don't complain, just get out and have a nice day."

He sat down at his desk, pulling out an orange book from within his pocket, and read as he ignored the class.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. This guy was a total goof. Did he even realize that they still had another ten minutes before the bell rang? Oh well. Naruto certainly wasn't going to complain.

"Hey moron, let's go." Sasuke was standing next to him, holding out Naruto's bag for him to take.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to wait up." Naruto wasn't sure when the other had walked over, and was rather annoyed that he hadn't sensed him there.

"I wanted to, it's fine. Besides I want to apologize for what I had said before. I was just mad and—" Naruto cut him off.

"Please don't. It was my fault. I'm just not used to all of this and I guess I have just been feeling sorry for myself. Plus, I'm not too fond of vampires, so you just happened to be a good person to get my anger out on." He laughed nervously, hoping that Sasuke would understand. Luckily he did.

"Just forget about it. It's over as far as I am concerned." Naruto nodded and held out his hand to Sasuke. He was unsure why he was doing it, but maybe he had been a little too harsh in thinking that all vampires were monsters.

It might be time to give Sasuke a chance; something in the back of his mind was telling him that it was the right thing to do.

So Naruto would take an new step in this world. Smiling, he held out his hand.

"Friends?"

Sasuke could not contain the smile that spread across his face. It might not be what Sasuke wanted but he would never give up the chance to be closer to him.

He took his hand firmly in his and shook it. "Friends."

"Ok, now that you two have kissed and made up, can you please leave."

They both turned around to see an irritated Kakashi looking at them from behind his book.

"What, so you can read your porn?" Kakashi flashed Sasuke a look, but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to Naruto.

"It's good to see you again, Naruto. It's been too long." Naruto stared at him confused. What was this guy talking about? He had no clue, that was for sure.

"What do you mean, you saw me just yesterday." Kakashi contemplated this for a moment, finally bringing his book down from his face. He did not recall seeing him before today. Then again, he faintly remembered seeing Iruka with a blond boy the other day.

"Ah, yes now I remember. You were with Iruka."

Naruto nodded, glad to see that the man remembered.

"Well in any case its good to see you again. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do." Sasuke bid Kakashi goodbye, but not without seeing the small smile that spread across his face.

Yes, Kakashi was happy to see Naruto again.

"Come on, let's go." Naruto and Sasuke walked out of the room, filing into the crowded hall.

They had English next with each other, so Sasuke didn't have to bother showing Naruto to class. Not that he minded, he just didn't want to be late for another class.

"Hey Sasuke." He stopped turning to look at Naruto. They had some time to spare still since Kakashi had let them out early. He watched Naruto as he concentrated on what he was about to ask.

"I have a question. Why is it that you guys have to go to school and all? I mean don't you remember it from like... your past lives." Sasuke had to hand it to him. That was a pretty good question for an idiot. He guessed he would be nice and answer it, although he doubted that Naruto would like his answer.

"Well, to tell you the truth, we don't remember everything from our past lives. Then agai,n humans forget things from day to day. Minds are only so big and they can only hold so much. Just because we are reborn with our memories doesn't mean we remember everything. Usually the stuff we learn in school goes first. I remember some of what I have learned, but it's all fuzzy. What I do remember, though, is big events in my lives and important people. Stuff like that is what you will never forget. If you get what I mean."

Naruto took all of this in. "So you mean I am going to have to go to school over and over again."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the horrified expression on Naruto's face. Of course that would be the boy's main concern, though Sasuke couldn't blame him. School was not his most favorite place to be either.

"Look on the bright side though. You always get to learn new things. Plus after a few life times you start to get the hang of your studies and you don't have to work as hard."

Naruto groaned, having no words to portray how he felt.

"Shut it, your pouting is not going to help anything, Idiot."

"Stop calling me that, Bastard."

"No."

"Gah!"

That was pretty much how the rest of the day went. Whenever they were together, they would argue and tease one another. It was weird how natural it felt, but at the same time it was a feeling Naruto welcomed freely.

For the first time in weeks he finally felt like he had found a place where he belonged. It was just strange to find it next to a certain dark haired vampire.

* * *

Naruto plopped himself on the love seat in his new 'home'. The day was finally over, school had been boring like it always was and now he was laden with homework that he really did not feel like doing at the moment.

"So Naruto, did you enjoy your first day?" Sakura came into the living room sitting on the coffee table in front of him. She smiled at how exhausted he looked. It was funny to see that something as simple as school could wear the hyperactive blond out.

"Bleh, I don't want to go back." He groaned.

"You seemed like you were enjoying yourself at lunch." Which was the truth. At lunch Naruto had been a full of energy, chatting with everyone adamantly. He even had Sasuke talking more than usual—An accomplishment in itself.

"Yeah, it was also nice to have you in Government and Biology. That Ibiki scares the shit out of me. I mean did you see all those scars. He reminds me of a trained assassin or something." Naruto threw his arms up in exaggeration, making Sakura laugh.

"That's true. I once heard he threatened to throw Neji out of the window when he didn't agree with something he was lecturing on."

"Neji?" Naruto looked at her in question.

"Oh, that's right. You haven't met him yet." Sakura pointed to Hinata who was sitting in the kitchen talking to Ino and Shikamaru. "Neji is Hinata's cousin. He is a year above us, which explains why you haven't seen him around. Then again, he's just as antisocial as Sasuke. I swear, vampires are all so moody."

"Watch it Sakura!" Ino yelled from the kitchen in a teasing tone. Sasuke just laughed and shook her head.

"You know it's true." Ino huffed but couldn't keep the smile from her face. It was just impossible to stay mad at her friend, even though she was right in some accounts.

"So Sakura, can you tell me something?" She looked back to Naruto who was watching her intently.

"You're human, right?"

She nodded, not sure where this was going.

"So then why do you get to live here with a bunch of vampires. I mean aren't you supposed to be oblivious to it all?" Naruto didn't know if Sakura was a special case or not.

"Most humans are oblivious to it all but not all... let me think about how to explain this. Ummm... When a vampire is reborn it is not always reborn into a vampire family. Sometimes a human will give birth to a vampire that shares the same bloodline. A good example would be Sasuke. Since his family is dead, the vampire ones, he is reborn into a human family that is somehow related to him in some form or another. If that makes any sense."

Naruto though it over for a moment. "So when I am reborn I will most likely be birthed by, let's say a future cousin or something."

"Yes, as long as you share the genes, than it can happen. In Ino's case, she was born into a human family who happened to live next door to me and my family. We grew up together and became best friends. Since we were so close, she came to me when she started to change. I then became her supply of blood, before she finally told her parents." Sakura giggled at Naruto's shocked expression.

"You mean you let her drink your blood?"

"Of course, she was my friend... I won't say I wasn't a little freaked about the whole thing, but I did get over it. Once we told her parents though, they understood since something like this had happened before in the family, she was sent here along with me. Tsunade decided to keep us together and we have been living together ever since." Naruto had to hand it to Sakura. He didn't think he could do what she had done for Ino. Well then again if it was for Kiba, he probably couldn't say no. They had been through too much together for him not to help out his friend.

Then again, Kiba was the one who was really in Sakura's place. He was happy to know that he had stayed by his side when Iruka had told him what he had become.

Sakura stood then, patting Naruto on the head.

"Let's go get some dinner, by the smell of it Hinata is cooking. Her meals are always the best. Then again, her mom teaches culinary arts so I guess it is to be expected." She looked off dreamily into the distance as if she was imagining all the delicious foods that could be prepared with such knowledge.

"So we are eating here? I thought we ate in the cafeteria?" Sakura frowned. Such an idea was blasphemy to even think.

"Of course not, why would you want to eat the crap they serve you in there when you can eat Hinata's wonderful cooking." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. He really didn't care so long as he ate. Then again, the smell coming was the kitchen was mouth watering.

"Sounds good to me." It was the truth; Naruto was too hungry to care anyways.

The sound of the front door opening and someone dumping what sounded like a bag on the ground, came echoing through the room.

Sasuke stood in the doorway removing his shoes and hanging his jacket on the provided hook. The November night had turned cold, a telltale sign that winter was right around the corner.

"Welcome back Sasuke." He looked up then to see Sakura and Naruto, both with smiles on their faces.

It was nice, he had to admit, to have such a warm welcome. Although he was more happy to see Naruto there than Sakura.

"Hn." He gave his trademark answer, not wanting to give them the satisfaction that he enjoyed their company.

"How was the meeting?" Naruto spoke this time, filling the doorway with his energetic voice.

"It was fine more or less. Takeshi is going to be a real problem this year though. He keeps trying to rewrite his lines." Sasuke was head of the theater club. From what he had told Naruto, they were working on a thanksgiving play that would be showing the weekend before they were let out for the week-long holiday.

"I'm not surprised. You know how he is." Sakura shook her head in mild irritation.

Naruto decided not to ask anything on the matter. Instead, he looked back towards the kitchen. The smell of dinner had intensified since Sasuke's arrival, and it only caused his mouth to water even more.

"You think din—"

"Dinner is ready!" Ino's shout confirmed his interrupted question.

She grinned cheekily at him from the kitchen. She had interrupted him on purpose, but Naruto held no hard feelings. After all, it was time to eat.

Naruto sat down at the table in between Sasuke and Sakura. He was going to sit and chat with Ino, but Sasuke gave him a look that clearly stated that the blond was to sit in the seat provided by the Uchiha and nowhere else.

Naruto would have complained, but the look Sasuke was giving him was a little unnerving, so he settled for listening to his orders.

The meal in itself was nothing special if you went on looks alone. They were, after all, students, and could not afford topnotch ingredients.

It consisted of a small salad that was eaten as an appetizer, followed by hand breaded chicken fried chicken, with garlic buttered broccoli and mashed potatoes topped with cream gravy. It was country styled meal to say the least, but it definitely had to be one of the best Naruto ever had.

"Naruto... d-do you like... the meal?" Hinata's quiet voice rose above the clattering of silverware and mild chatting.

Naruto swallowed the rather large bite of chicken he had taken. "It's wonderful, Hinata."

He smiled causing her to blush.

"I'm... gl–glad. I was h–hoping you would." She looked everywhere but at the blond that was sitting across from her.

She had made this meal especially for Naruto, hoping that would appreciate it. Over the time span of today she had grown a liking for the blue-eyed boy. One could even call it a small crush.

Sasuke sat back watching the whole exchange through narrowed eyes. He knew there was a reason why he never liked the Hyuuga girl much. He always thought it was because of how the Hyuugas were connected with the Uchihas, but now he had a clear understanding of why he did not like the girl.

It irked him how she tried to flirt with Naruto, and how the blond smiled back. This was surely something that he would have to keep an eye on.

"Idiot." he looked up when he heard the insult Sasuke always direct at him. Sasuke stared back at him, a scowl shown clearly over his face.

"Sasuke... what?" Naruto was confused. What had he done this time to anger the raven haired boy.

Sasuke just looked at him for a moment, not sure what to say. He merely wanted to redirect Naruto's attention, but now that he had it he had no clue what to do with it.

"So what did you think of your first day?" It was all he could think of asking and thankfully Naruto seemed to take the bait. The confusion drained from his face as he opened his mouth to answer.

"It was good. I will say that some of the teachers are off their rocker. I mean Gai..." Naruto visibly flinched. "If I hear one more thing about youth I'm going to puke."

Sasuke smiled, knowing full well what Naruto meant. Their gym teacher could be something else at times.

Sakura watched the interacting between the two boys with interest. In all the years she had known Sasuke, she had never seen him warm up to anyone like her had Naruto. It was almost as if they had been friends since they were little. It confused her to see such affection in the raven's eyes when he looked at the blond when he thought no one else was looking.

This was a side of Sasuke she had never seen before and one she wished over and over again that he would show to her and no one else. But that was a fool's dream, and she knew it. They could never be together and she accepted that. Then again, it did not stop her from loving the boy.

"A round of drinks anyone?" Ino began picking up plates and taking them over to the sink.

"Oh Ino... y–you don't have to do that. I can cl–clean up." She brushed Hinata's words aside with the flick of her hand.

"Don't worry about it. It my turn to do dishes anyway." She placed them in the sink for her to do later. "Ok now for the drinks."

Naruto was still chatting with Sasuke who just nodded his head as he listened. He had learned long ago that the blond could hold a whole conversation of his own.

"The only teacher that seems semi normal is Kurenai." Naruto continued as Ino began placing glasses down in front of the people who still remained at the table.

Sakura had gotten up and started cleaning the dishes. Ino had disapproved in the beginning, but Sakura stated that they always helped each other. In the end, Ino relented and let Sakura do as she pleased.

"Wait till you see her when she's mad. I think you might be changing that statement... Thank you." Ino smiled as she put the glass down in front of Sasuke and then gave one to Naruto.

Naruto looked at it in distaste. The red liquid sloshing as he held it in his hand.

Sasuke was already drinking his is slow practiced sips. He wonder, as he watched the raven, if he would ever grow used to drink the substance as Sasuke had.

Although if he though about it, Sasuke had never had a life where he did not have to think of doing such things. He had never been human, unlike Naruto.

Sasuke was lucky in that respect. He had always known what he was and what he was to become.

Naruto, though, never had any inclination of what was to come. If someone had told him this would happen in his future, he probably would have laughed and told them they were crazy.

Then again, that was also back when he thought of vampires as nothing more than zombies that sucked blood and turned to ash in the light of the sun. Maybe that was how he got the notion that all vampires were monsters.

It was an ideal that was forced into his head by Hollywood directors, and not by the facts of real life.

Then again what facts could he have seen in the real world? To him they had always been imaginary creatures that haunted the movie screen and nightmares, but nothing more.

Now though, he had been thrust into a world he had though never existed as one of the very things he had been taught to fear. In some respects, he thought it was right to fear the creature he had become, but not all.

He stole a glance at the people around him. For now he would trust them, open his heart as much as he could for them. They were all he had.

Sasuke turned to look at him then, his face placid. For some reason Naruto felt that Sasuke was the one to thank for his new attitude towards everything.

Naruto smiled then raising his glass to Sasuke's.

"To the unknown future." Sasuke looked at him for a moment. Trying to decode the sudden change in the blond.

Finding nothing worth wild, he gently clashed his glass against the other.

"To the unknown future." He repeated as both took a sip from their glasses.

He could get used to this. Naruto was sure he could, time always was good at helping with such things.

Naruto took another sip, downing the rest of the contents in his glass. It wasn't so bad, in fact he rather liked the taste of blood; Sweet and tangy.

He could do this. He could live this life, after all he had chosen not to become a monster.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Ok, it's done, finally done... well this chapter is, at least. To me it was very hard to write this part... I keep thinking I am repeating myself too much. Also I have come to the part of the fic where it's mainly about building on Sasuke's and Naruto's relationship... it's hard for me since I just want to jump in and get to the lemon. XD_

_So please tell me if things start to go too fast... I will start to slow down._

_Well off you go then. Please review, I am a review whore. XD_

_-Akiru-_


	6. Temptation

_A/N - Ok I am quite happy with myself. I do think this is the longest chapter I have written. Yush... I guess it is easy to write long chapter when you enjoy what you are writing. _

_Beta'ed by Hyde n Psyc... much love to ya._

_Also thank you so much for all the reviews. I love you guys. hugs_

_Disclaimer- I will own them... you bet I will... once I find my army of evil flying monkeys. is shot But no seriously Naruto and Co. Belong to Kishimoto._

* * *

Chapter Five: Temptation

* * *

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself."-Oscar Wilde-

* * *

"_Sasuke." It was called out into the night air. A sensual sound in the dense darkness. _

_Two bodies drenched in sweat preformed a forbidden dance in the tangled web of wild flowers that they used for a bed. _

_Sasuke buried his face into his lovers neck taking in the musky scent. It was a smell unique only to the man below him. A scent that he loved so much. _

"_N – Naruto... I can't... I need..." Naruto smiled, he always loved to hear is name spilling from the ravens lips with such passion and need. They had only been together for a few months, but despite that he knew from the bottom of his heart he would never want another like he had Sasuke. _

_Tan hands ghosted over pale flesh, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. Each soft touch scorched Sasuke's already burning skin. It was torture to feel those hands everywhere but where he needed them most. He wanted to take Naruto then and there, they had enough fore play for one night. _

_Seeing the silent plea in Sasuke's eyes Naruto removed his fingers from Sasuke's back. Immediately the Uchiha missed the touch, but what came next made up for the lack on contact. _

_Naruto brought those same fingers to his own mouth, dragging them in and out. His deep blue eyes stayed focused on Sasuke's. He found it rather humorous how his lover stared at those digits as he thoroughly coated them with saliva. _

_He was teasing him now, Sasuke was sure of it. The way he sucked on his fingers as if he was fucking his mouth. God, would he love to replace those fingers with his throbbing cock. _

"_Naruto..." Hearing the irritation in Sasuke's voice he knew that he had drawn out his teasing long enough. Naruto removed them, albeit slowly, and brought them down between their two heated bodies. He stopped then, letting his fingers hover over his puckered whole. _

_Naruto took once glance at Sasuke, seeing that he was staring intently at his stilled fingers. He mentally giggled to himself. It was so easy to gain Sasuke's complete attention if you knew how to go about it properly. _

_Sasuke watched as Naruto's slim index finger slid into himself, preparing him for what was to come. It was an erotic sight to watch Naruto's face twist into a tangled mix of pleasure and pain. What made it even more arousing was that Naruto was doing this to himself. _

_Another finger entered just then, stretching the blond even more. The two digits moved in and out, scissoring the tightened skin as they went. _

"_Ah... Sasuke..." He hit his prostate just then, send a wave of pleasure that left him panting and gasping for more. It was at this point that he could not wait any longer, he needed Sasuke now. He needed him to dive deep within him and filling him completely. _

_Sasuke complied without even having to ask. The moment Naruto's fingers were removed Sasuke was there to take their place._

_He wasted no time in entering his lover, filling him to the brim in one quick thrust. _

_Naruto let a moan escape his mouth. This was what he had been waiting for. It was the reason he had snuck out so late. He loved the feeling of being one and the same with the boy he loved more than anything else._

"_Oh god... fuck... Sa– Sasuke..." It was all incoherent babbles that came from the blonde's mouth after that. Pleas to go faster and harder, words of endearment, and dirty words meant to egg Sasuke on– that was all that could be heard. _

_Sasuke pounded into his lover hard at Naruto's request. He was so tight, like always. No matter how many times they had sex, Naruto was always tight and Sasuke wouldn't have it any other way. _

"_You feel... so good..." Sasuke all but moaned out in the night sky._

_The two bodies glided over each other, hot breaths fanning over their cheeks. Skin slapping skin could be heard amongst the sweet nothings and moans being uttered. _

_Everything was coming to it's peak. The end of another night spent in the throws of passion. Sasuke could feel the pressure building in his lower stomach. It would not be long before he came. _

_It was Naruto though who came first. The feel of Sasuke inside him and the ravens hand gliding over his cock that had his screaming in ecstasy as his hot essence spilled from him. _

"_Naruto!" Sasuke was soon to follow, screaming his lovers name into the night for only the harvest moon to hear._

* * *

Sasuke woke with a start. He sat up trembling in bed as the images from the dream assaulted his mind. Then again, it hadn't really been a dream; it was more a vivid memory than anything else. One that he had not thought of in a long, long time.

'_Shit'_His shaking hands wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. Sasuke's body was drenched in it, making his pajamas stick to him in unsightly ways. What was more concerning was the stickiness between his legs. He knew that it was not sweat and he hated to admit to himself what it really was.

This was the third time this week that he had woken in a similar state. The first time it happened Sasuke had been unconcerned. To him it was just one of those things that happened. He would just blame it on being around Naruto again.

But it was getting a little concerning. This was the third night _in a row_ that he had woken up in a tangle of blankets, the pleasure from his dream still coursing through his body.

Soon he wouldn't even be able to look Naruto in the eye. Sasuke hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. He would just have to resign his body to the fact that those were dreams, nothing more. Fragments of memories that would never happen again.

Sighing he turned his tired gaze to the glowing numbers of his digital alarm clock. The time seemed to stare back at him almost as if it was laughing at his face for having woken up at such an unsightly hour.

It was five in the morning. Normally Sasuke would not have problem with getting up at this time since he usually got ready for school around six thirty-ish, but this happened to be a Saturday. The one day Sasuke could sleep in. Sunday mornings were taking up with theater practice so Sasuke could not spare much more than an hour or so of extra sleep.

He was tempted to just lie back down and fall asleep, but the stickiness in his boxers kept him from doing otherwise.

'_I swear, if this happens again I am coming after Naruto. I don't care if he doesn't remember anything. His ass will be mine if it means me getting some sleep._' He grumbled curses under his breath as he went to exit his room. He needed a nice long shower and a big breakfast, but not even that idea helped increase his mood.

A normal person would probably plod back into bed after getting cleaned up, but Sasuke could not go back to sleep once he had fully woken up. Today seemed to be shaping up to be like the previous days he had had the honor of waking up early.

He glared momentarily at Naruto's room as he passed it. It was tempting to wake up the blond and have him suffer as well, but that would cause Sasuke to answer some questions he'd rather not be asked.

Shaking his head, Sasuke walked into the shower and what was the beginning of what he knew would be a horrible day.

* * *

Naruto bounded down the stairs, looking as bright as the morning sun.

It was still early in the morning so he didn't expect anyone to be up. It was his first weekend here, and he was unsure of everyone's sleeping habits, so he decided to be quiet just in case one of them was a late sleeper.

For Naruto the week had seemed to go by so fast. School had kept his attention, which was an accomplishment in itself.

The highlight of the week though had to have been the friends he had made. Everyone had been so nice to him and he was truly happy to have met them.

Sakura was like a sister to him. She fussed over him and lectured him when he would neglect his studies. They teased each other quite a bit, although it often ended with Naruto getting a bump on the head courtesy of the girl's fist.

Ino, on the other hand, was more like Sakura's opposite. He often wondered how the two got along so well. She was constantly egging Naruto on when it came to pestering the poor strawberry blond. Ino and Naruto were more or less partners in crime.

Shikamaru was still an enigma to Naruto. The boy was just so damn lazy that it baffled him how the boy got anything done. Every time he saw Shikamaru the brunette was either sleeping or daydreaming.

Hinata, in Naruto's opinion, was too shy for her own good. Yet the girl had an inner beauty to her that seemed to make her shine. She had to be by far the kindest and sweetest person he had ever met.

Now if only she could get over her shyness. I mean honestly, what kind of person turns as red as a tomato and can't even form coherent sentences when talking? Naruto wasn't sure what to think of that.

And then there was Sasuke. Truth be told, Naruto had hated the boy when they first met. They got off to bad start, too, so it wasn't so surprising that he had developed such bitter feelings for the raven.

Thankfully, though, they had cleared things up, but not without a rather nasty fight. Naruto was thankful that it had ended with them being friends.

Everything seemed so perfect between them now aside from the occasional name calling. But besides that, the only thing that really bothered Naruto about the boy was the way he looked at him.

It was like Sasuke was looking at him, but not really at _him_. He always had that look in his eye that seemed to be too familiar with Naruto than what Sasuke could possibly have been after knowing him only a week.

The other thing that got on Naruto's nerves was the fact that Sasuke could never seem to say his name. It was always either Idiot, Moron, Dumbass, Stupid, etc., etc., etc.

Maybe he had trouble remembering names. He didn't really know, but he wished Sasuke would get it right.

'_Speak of the devil._' Naruto walked into the kitchen only to see Sasuke fumbling around. From the look of things it seemed like he was trying to cook. Key word being trying.

Egg shells were haphazardly scattered around the counters, yolk dripping onto the floor. What looked to be pancake batter was splattered here and there like it had been beaten rather carelessly.

"Well aren't you a little miss Susie Homemaker." Sasuke twirled around, clearly startled at the boy's appearance.

He hadn't been expecting anyone to be up for another hour or so, so seeing Naruto standing before him was not something he had been expecting.

"What are you doing up?" He asked.

"I should be asking _you_ that question. I would have pegged you to be a late sleeper-- after all, with a face like yours it's apparent that you get your beauty sleep." Sasuke unintentionally blushed at the blonde's words.

'_Did he just call me pretty?_' Apparently Naruto hadn't realized what he had been implying since he walked over to stand next to Sasuke who still looked rather dumb-struck.

"So what are you making?" Sasuke frowned, finally noticing Naruto, who was currently poking at the breakfast he was trying– but failing– to make.

"None of your business."

"Oh come on, let me help. I'm sure we can't make any more of a mess than you already have." Naruto smirked.

"Hn." Sasuke was not in a mood to deal with the blond at this moment, especially after last night.

"Whatever, just don't hurt yourself."

"Aye, aye Captain." He gave Sasuke a salute and marched over to the abandoned bowl of batter. Naruto frowned at the thick liquid, seeing the chunks that were still floating about. One would think cooking would be an easy task for Sasuke, considering he was perfect in almost everything else. But Naruto was happy to just take this a tiny sign that the brooding raven was indeed human. It was also a great topic for future teasing. Naruto started beating the batter with gusto, trying to show up Sasuke.

To bad Naruto didn't realize he was being just as messy as Sasuke. He was stirring the batter without watching what he was doing, too preoccupied with thinking about how to mock Sasuke with this new revelation.

"Hey, Moron! Snap out of it." Naruto jumped, startled. He hadn't realized he had been spacing out. "The batter is supposed to stay in the bowl, not to go flying everywhere," Sasuke huffed, pointing the spatula he was holding in Naruto's face.

The blond stared at the object, taking in the grease and pieces of egg that still stuck with it. "You're one to talk. It seems like you were faring no better before I came in." He motioned to the dirty kitchen.

Sasuke said nothing, preferring to grumble to himself under his breath. It wasn't his fault that in all his lives he had never learned to cook. The Uchihas had always been a rather wealthy family. He had always had his meals prepared for him, and even after his parents' death he was still taken care of in similar ways by his caretakers. After all, he was the last heir to the main Leben line.

Seeing that Sasuke was not going to say anymore on the subject, Naruto decided it was probably smart to clean himself off before the batter dried. He really didn't want to feel sticky all day.

The bowl was put down next to the stove for Sasuke to prepare after he was done with eggs. Naruto only hoped Sasuke was better at cooking pancakes than he was with eggs. He had a feeling that he would be eating them black.

Looking down at himself he saw that he had successfully covered his body in batter. It was all on his shirt, hands, and face. Luckily his pants had been spared.

Wasting no time, Naruto brought his fingers to his mouth. He licked and sucked at them making sure that he got every last bit of batter off.

Sasuke, unfortunately, decided to turn around just then only to be met by the most erotic sight. Naruto stood there, his eyes half lidded, sucking at each one of his tan fingers.

It was in that moment that the memories that had come to him last night came surging forward. He saw Naruto laying there beneath him illuminated by the pale moon light as his tongue glided over his fingers.

'_Dear god, fucking hell. What have I done to deserve this?_' Sasuke could feel himself growing hot. This was not good, not good at all.

As if unintentionally Naruto stop the assault of his fingers, earning a relieved sigh from Sasuke. That was only a momentary relief for the Uchiha since the worst was still to come.

Naruto stared at his shirt in thought for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should just wipe the batter off or just take his shirt off all together. If he was going to stay and help Sasuke than he was sure to get even messier so it was probably better to just take it off rather than risk getting it stained even more.

God must of really hated Sasuke. He was almost sure of that. If not that then he had a really sick sense of humor. Sasuke watched in horror as the blond in front of him began to remove his shirt. A toned chest and stomach came in to view for Sasuke's hungry eyes to roam over.

It was just how he remembered it. So tanned and so hard, he only wished he could touch it. Run his hands over that body and taste the boy's...

Ok that thought had to stop there before it went _any_ farther. This was not good, _really_ not good. Sasuke could not take his eyes off of Naruto. It was like they were glued to the half-naked body in front of him.

Naruto wadded up his shirt and threw it on the table. The sudden movement caused his hair to shake making some of the batter that had settled there fall on his chest.

"Shit." It felt weird to have the cold substance run down his bare front. He looked around quickly for a towel or napkin, all the while completely oblivious to the effects he was having on Sasuke. If he were to look at the raven now he would be faced with a rather large problem that consisted of a very hard and very sexually frustrated individual.

Sighing when he found nothing to clean his chest with, Naruto took his finger and scooped up the dripping batter and brought it to his mouth. He clearly enjoyed the taste if his facial expression was anything to go by.

Sasuke, at this point, couldn't take anymore. He was going to do one of three things if he didn't get help now: One– this being the one he would enjoy most– he was going to pounce the sexy blond and have his naughty way with him; two, he was going to promptly faint and then die of blood loss from the massive nosebleed he was bound to have; the last option was to He was to run like hell out of the room and take one hell of a cold shower.

Weighing his options, he decided that number three was the best solution at the moment. With his mind made up, Sasuke calmly placed the spatula down on the counter and faced Naruto once again.

"I need to head to the bathroom. Take care of things here." And then he was off, storming up the stairs and past Sakura who looked on in confusion. When he finally reached the bathroom he slid down the door to sit on the cold tile.

Oh how he had been tempted to have Naruto again, just like he had in his dream. If these past few days were any indication, Sasuke was free to assume that the coming days with the blond would only get worse.

* * *

For the second time that day Naruto came bounding down the stairs. This time, however, he was not met with an empty room.

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata sat on the couch watching a reality show. They talked amongst themselves, arguing over who should win.

Shikamaru was sitting by the window looking out at the clouds. The guy seemed to have a cloud fetish, in Naruto's opinion.

The only person missing from the room was Sasuke. For some reason it seemed like he had been avoiding Naruto since that morning, after he had sprinted up the stairs. At first he though nothing of it until it became blatantly obvious.

Every time Naruto entered a room that Sasuke had been occupying, the raven haired boy would get up and leave.

This time though it was a little different. Sasuke strolled out of the kitchen just then, holding a Dr. Pepper in one hand and a thick novel in the other. He took a seat in an empty chair, taking no notice of or interest in Naruto.

Deciding to ignore the other boy as well, Naruto turned to Sakura and Ino.

"Hey girls, I have a question." The three girls looked up at Naruto, just now realizing that he had come into the room.

"Sure, what is it?" Sakura was the one to answer since it seemed he was speaking more to her than anyone else.

"I just got a call from my friend Kiba. He wants to know if he can come visit me since it's the weekend and all." Naruto had been so excited to see his mobile go off, flashing Kiba's name on the little screen. He had begun to worry that the loud brunette had forgotten him since he had not heard from him all week. Normally, he would have accepted Kiba's proposal at once, but he was unsure if he was aloud to have people come and visit him on school grounds. So after telling Kiba that he would call him back, he decided to consult Sakura and Ino about the matter since Sasuke was being a recluse.

Sakura took this news in for a moment and thought it through before looking at Ino. "It should be fine, he would just need to check in at the front office." Sakura could almost have said she was blinded by the brightness of the smile she received from Naruto.

"Yush!" Naruto exclaimed, causing everyone in the room to look at the blond. Even Sasuke looked up from his book with a frown. He wasn't too sure if he like the idea of one of Naruto's friends coming over. He didn't need any competition from people he didn't know.

"I have to go call him back then," was all the reply Naruto gave his audience before he bounded back up the stairs and back into his room. Picking up his cell phone, he hit speed dial and called Kiba to tell him the good news.

"They said yes!" he practically screamed when he heard Kiba's hello.

"Dammit Blondie, you're going to bust my eardrums if you keep screeching like that." Kiba's voice carried a smirk, knowing that Naruto would be pouting on the other end.

"So you coming or what?" Was the reply he received.

"I guess I must. You won't let me do otherwise, will you now?"

"Damn straight." Kiba chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm. He had to say, he missed him quite a lot. It just wasn't the same without the loud blond at school.

"Ok, well, I'll see you in a bit then."

"Yeah, I'll meet ya at the front office so you can sign in. Give me a call when you get here."

"Will do." They said their good-byes and hung up. Both of them were excited to be seeing each other again after a long week apart.

The next hour was spent waiting anxiously in the living room. Naruto happily answered questions that were asked about his friend. He was happy to see that his new friends here seemed interested in getting to know Kiba; It made everything all the better.

* * *

Sasuke sat across the room glaring at the page he was currently on. He was no longer reading; he was just staring blankly at the words presented to him. Jumbled curses ran through his mind as he thought of Naruto being close to someone other than himself.

It was true that it was something that couldn't be helped, but it still did not help ease the raven's foul mood.

When he and Naruto had been together they had been everything to each other. Now, though, was totally different. He only hoped that this Kiba guy was nothing special. After all, it was hard to compete with an Uchiha. Sasuke settled down then, realizing he had nothing to worry about.

Or that was the frame of mind he kept before Naruto's phone rang out into the small room. The blond quickly answered it, a huge smile plastered over his face.

"Sure, be there in a bit." Was all Sasuke heard him say before he closed the phone and ran to the door. "Be back soon." And then he was gone.

For the next ten minutes Sasuke sat there contemplating on what to do when Naruto came back.

Should he be nice and welcome this guy in with open arms and a bright smile? No, certainly not. Maybe he could try to be nice and tolerate him? That wasn't too hard. A pain, yes, but nothing too bad.

Or he could try his last option. Be the bastard that he was. It sounded good. Fairly simple and it was just so him.

'_Yup._' Sasuke thought that would do nicely.

Upon coming to that decision the door flung open to reveal Naruto dragging a boy in with messy brown locks and a nervous expression on his face.

Oh yes, this would be all too easy. This boy looked like pansy to Sasuke. He had nothing to worry about at all.

Naruto walked into the main room, still pulling Kiba along. Sakura and Ino smiled at the timid boy.

The room was quiet as everyone waited for introductions to be done. So far it had grown quite uncomfortable in the silence, but Naruto would not allow that to go on for much longer.

After all it wasn't like Kiba to be so shy. Then again it might of had something to do with Kiba's fears of getting jumped by rabid vampires wanting to suck him dry.

"Kiba, this is Sakura and Ino." He pointed to the two girls who had been smiling at him. They both shook his hand, and Sakura gave him a quick hug. He tensed at the contact but relaxed when Sakura laughed.

"Loosen up. No one is going to attack you." Sakura said, as if reading his mind.

"Heh..." Kiba laughed along with her, feeling embarrassed for thinking so.

Naruto smiled at the sight before diverting Kiba's attention to the boy who was sitting by the window.

"That over there is Shikamaru." Said boy raised his hand in greeting but otherwise said nothing. "He is the laziest person you will ever meet. Finds everything too troublesome," Naruto whispered.

"That's because it is." Came the reply.

Last but not least Naruto turned to Sasuke who was sitting in the chair, seeming to be still reading.

"And that bastard over there is Sasuke." Naruto announced earning a scoff from the raven haired teen.

"At least I am not an idiot." Was his retort.

Sasuke found pleasure in the way Naruto's cheeks puffed out in irritation.

"Don't call me that." Naruto whined.

"Ah, but I only speak the truth." Sasuke saw the blond begin to open his mouth to retort when his friend beat him to it.

"Well I guess it's nice to see that there is someone out there that enjoys insulting you as much as I do." Kiba laughed giving Sasuke a smile.

"Hey Kiba, that's not fair. You're supposed to be on my side." He pouted to Kiba, faking hurt.

"Ah, you're used to it, and you know you love it." Naruto said nothing but turned to Sasuke.

"Now that Dog Breath knows who everybody is--" he shot Kiba a glare. "–what do you all want to do?"

Sakura sat down and thought for a moment. "I guess we could take a moment to just talk. I'm sure Kiba has a lot of questions for you Naruto," she said, knowing how Kiba must feel.

He nodded, looking over at Naruto. "Sounds good. I would also like to get to know you all better. I want to know that I'm leaving my Naruto in good hands."

Oh,_that_ got Sasuke's attention all right. '_My_ Naruto?' What did he mean by that? The blond had said that they were only friends. Was he lying about that? Sasuke was dying to know.

The small group of teens sat around the table. The conversation started out with the basics of Vampire 101, and soon stemmed out into more personal questions.

Naruto was happy to see that everyone was getting along so well-- everyone except Sasuke, that is. The boy had been glaring at Kiba the entire time they had been talking. Naruto wanted to ask him what his problem was but then thought better of it.

Sasuke had been acting weird all day so he decided not to worry about it too much. '_Maybe it was PMS,_' He thought with an internal giggle.

"So Kiba, what did you and Naruto do before this whole mess started?" Ino asked, swishing the cup in her hand. She loved the way it made Kiba go pale when she drank from it.

"Umm... we just sort of went out here and there. You know, movies, played some sports together, that sort of stuff," he answered, his eyes never leaving the glass.

"Is that so." All eyes shot to Sasuke who spoke for the first time since they sat down.

Kiba nodded, but said nothing.

"So what is Naruto to you, actually? A good friend... best friend even... or perhaps boyfriend, crush..." All eyes widened at Sasuke's question. One would never expect the Uchiha to ask such a thing. He was usually the one who couldn't care less about such things.

Kiba looked at him with a raised eyebrow before bursting out in laughter.

"Oh man, that's a good one." He slapped Sasuke hard on the back, earning himself another glare. "Who in their right mind would have a thing for this idiot?" He pointed at Naruto, who looked offended.

"Hey, man. That wasn't cool."

Kiba ignored him and went on. "No way, we're just close buds. Besides, I ain't gay." He laughed more to himself than anything else.

Sasuke visibly relaxed after that. Knowing that Kiba was not a threat to him was a great relief. The boy was annoying, but he wasn't going to be taking Naruto away.

The rest of the day went by slowly. After the talk that took up a good two hours, the group decided to sit down and play a simple game of Pictionary. It turned into a metaphorical blood bath as Ino and Sakura got into a fight with Sasuke and Naruto about what was fair. Kiba and Hinata, who had partnered up with each other, just looked on, not wanting to get involved.

In the end Kiba and Hinata beat them all. This earned Kiba a hug from Hinata causing them both to blush.

After that everyone insisted that Kiba stayed the night since tomorrow was Sunday and no one had anything truly important going on.

It didn't take much to convince the brunette and he was soon calling his mom to get her Ok. Once it was all settled everyone moved into the living room and got comfortable.

To say they had agreed on the movie would be a lie. It was some chick flick, and the girl-to-guy ratio didn't matter once Sakura and Ino teamed up to force the rest of them into it.

Sasuke had to admit that the movie wasn't half-bad, even if it had a rather sappy plot and an awfully cliched ending. But now it was over and late into the night. Everyone seemed to have fallen asleep at some point in the movie and were now sleeping in a disheveled mess all around.

Sakura and Ino were cuddled together on the love seat with a blanket covering them from the chill that had settled in the room.

Over by the window Sasuke could see Shikamaru sleeping soundly, not seeming to care about the awkward position he was laying in.

Naruto was on the couch taking up all the room. Sasuke had been sitting with him at some point in time, but had been forced to take a seat on the floor when the blond none-too-gently demanded more space for his feet.

His eyes roamed over Naruto's form as he slept. He looked like he had all those years ago, in every life before this one: like an angel sent to him from Heaven.

The temptation swelled up in him again. Sasuke wanted to touch that boy so much, to feel the warm softness of his skin. He wanted to rake his hands through that coarse hair and kiss those full lips.

Not being able to resist, Sasuke let his knuckles glide carefully along the blonde's face before allowing his hand to cup the cheek fully.

It was so warm, warm and softer than he had remembered. His thumb stroked the scars that marred Naruto's beautiful face. They were something new to Sasuke. A part of Naruto that was unique to this life alone.

Sasuke briefly wonder how he had come to have them.

"They're birth marks." Sasuke jumped back in shock. He had not realized that someone was still awake.

Looking around in mild panic he came face-to-face with Kiba.

"He was born with them. It's always struck me as funny how perfect they are. Kinda remind me of whiskers." Sasuke just watched him, unsure of what to say.

"It seems like he's happy here. It was nice to see him smile so much. When I came I was afraid about what I might find, but it seems like he's doing fine." Kiba looked up then and smiled at Sasuke. "I think I have you to thank for that. He always seems to smile more at you than anyone else."

"I haven't done anything that could have..." Kiba dismissed the Uchiha's words with a wave of his hand. He wouldn't have any of Sasuke's modesty.

"You've done a _lot_ for him. You didn't see how broken he was before he came here." Sasuke saw the sadness in Kiba's eyes and the realization of how bad it must have been registered.

"I can leave now knowing that I'm leaving him in good hands. He cares for you Sasuke, and... I know you care for him as well. Don't think I don't see the way you look at him when you think no one is looking." Kiba stared into Sasuke's eyes. The direct eye contact was slightly disconcerting for Sasuke, making Kiba's words' effects even stronger.

"I don't know exactly what you feel for him, but I will say this: Naruto is not gay. If romance is what you are looking for then I am sad to say you will be disappointed. Naruto can be your best friend. He will love you as a brother, but nothing more. Please take care of him, though. If you dare hurt him on purpose in any way, you'll have _me_ to answer to." Sasuke saw the threat in the brunette's eyes but said nothing. What _could_he say, after what he had just been told?

'_So he says I have no chance._' it hurt him to think that it was the truth. Deep down, Sasuke knew that Naruto was no longer his. Yet that fact still didn't tame the temptation that was swelling within him. He didn't know how long he could keep himself away from Naruto. It was torture to be this close to the blond and not be able to have him fully. Only time would tell if Kiba's words were true.

Without a second glance Sasuke left Kiba standing there. He had too much to think about and he needed some time alone. He made his way up to his room. He had another sleepless night ahead of him, that much was sure.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Ok well I got you all a lemon... sucky lemon but at least you go some action... and Sasuke's got some major problems going on now... yeah... _

_Things will brighten up soon... or so I keep telling myself... happy happy times ahead. LOL. The next chapter will have some SasuNaru in it... I promise... and it won't be in a flash back or dream.., although expect some time skips since it would get pretty boring and long is I went through each and everyday. _

_Also feed back is great considering I am now in the process of writing my own novel. Constructive criticism is great... tell me what I need to work on and what I don't need to change. _

_Hope you all enjoyed. _

_-Akiru-_


	7. Family

_A/N - Well I am back to bring you yet another chapter of BSL. I think you all will enjoy this chapter._

_Sorry about the wait... life happened... I meant to update before Thanksgiving and my birthday, but I got my wisdom teeth out and was out of commission for awhile. Then Thanksgiving came along and then a few days after my birthday ((20 now, woo hoo..)) and then finals started._

_In fact I went back and forth between this and my final paper for Moral Problems. So much fun._

_Well hope you enjoy._

_Un-beta'ed... up for the job? Email me._

* * *

Chapter Six: Family

* * *

"We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies."

-Shirley Abbott-

* * *

"Cut, cut, cut!" The girl walking across stage, huffed, and threw her hands up in frustration.

"Again?" She stopped at the edge of the stage. "What am I doing wrong this time Sasuke?"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. He was really not in the mood to deal with anyone today.

"Just start from the top Tenten." She just looked at the boy who sat in an empty row of the fairly large auditorium. It was another Sunday morning that meant another trying day of rehearsal.

"No! I will not start from the top. First my hair wasn't right. Then I wasn't putting enough emotion in my voice. Oh and lets not forget when you yelled at me to stop being girly. Sorry to disappoint but I am a girl and I am playing a girl. What was it this time? Are my boobs too big for ya? Prefer me to get rid of them?" Tenten continued on with her ranting.

The girl in Sasuke's opinion was like a loaded pistol. It was not smart to pull her trigger. Then again he never really heeded that advice. The two of them never really got along. Sasuke was too demanding and Tenten was too free spirited.

It was always like this when ever Sasuke had to direct one of the many plays they performed a year. He always had problems with Tenten along with two others he rather not think about right now. Sasuke sometimes wondered how Shakespeare did it. He never used woman in his plays and that was his secret. The lucky bastard didn't have to deal with their PMS and constant mood swings.

"Are you insulting my girlfriend again?" Sasuke didn't even have to look up to see who had spoken. He would know that irritating indifferent tone anywhere. "I rather like her boobs the way they are."

"Hyuuga." Black eyes bore into pale violet as Sasuke finally turned his attention to the man next to him. It had been awhile since the last time he had seen Neji but he couldn't say he missed him.

The two of them got along relatively well, but Sasuke couldn't say he enjoyed the boys company. Although it was a known fact that Sasuke didn't enjoy anyone's company.

"What brings you here?" Neji took a seat next to Sasuke. The theaters chairs were fairly comfortable and he allowed himself to lay back and relax; smiling when Tenten waved at him.

"I just came to pick Tenten up. We are supposed to go do some early Christmas shopping. You know how she is, has to get everything done early."

Sasuke frowned. The last time the two went shopping together for the holidays they had gotten him books on over coming depression. Of course it was a gage gift, they had also given him a gift card to a store he had like at the time, but the joke was not taken well.

He had ended up sulking the rest of the day and glaring at anyone who dared to try to bring up a conversation with him.

"Oh, don't tell me you are still sore about last year. It was a harmless joke." Sasuke was ignoring him, focusing his attention on the actors who were currently all on stage lying about waiting for orders.

"You all are dismissed. Practice will resume tomorrow after class." He waved his hand in dismissal. They all began to file out of the theater leaving Sasuke alone with Neji.

"Can you just forgive and forget, we are family after all." Sasuke shot him a look. Their relation to each other was not often brought up and even avoided at times. It was a taboo subject and the fact that Neji had brought it up so casually had shocked him to some degree.

"We are hardly family." It was the truth. The only thing that pointed to them being related was the blood that flowed through their veins, but that too didn't seem to be enough for Sasuke to call him family. There was one big difference between him and Neji.

Neji had human blood running through his veins. He was the child of one of Sasuke's mothers first sons. She had courted a human male producing the hybrid lineage of the Hyuuga's.

Technically speaking Sasuke would be considered Neji's uncle, but that would never be the case.

"Hn. True, but still we can not escape our past." He looked at Sasuke his eyes softening for a moment. They had indeed been through more hardships than he would like to recall. He had been with Sasuke during his family's slaughter and during the loss of his love. "Hinata has told me you have a new roommate. A blue eyed blond that goes by the name of Naruto."

"What of it?" The theater had grown sullen in the ominous atmosphere. Even Tenten who had come out of the dressing rooms moments before retreated backstage. She did not want to interrupt what ever the two had been talking about.

"Is it really him?" Sasuke was unsure how to answer. Neji after all had been the one to originally introduce Naruto to him. They had been close up until then, from what Sasuke remembered. Naruto was the only one who could ever make Neji smile.

"It is." It was all he could say. No doubt Neji would be effected the same way he had when seeing the blond boy again after so long.

"Hm... I thought so. After hearing Hinata talk about him I knew that it had to be our Naruto. She is rather fond of him you know."

"What do you mean?" He had noticed the looks the Hyuuga girl had been giving Naruto but he never saw it as anything other than her normal shy looks that she gave anyone who she was nervous about approaching.

"Well I would have to say you might have some competition this time around."

"You better be sure she stays away." Neji had to laugh at that. A melodious tune in the quiet theater.

"Don't get angry, after all she does not remember that he once belonged to you. She is not cursed as we are." It was one of the blessings of being born with human blood. Hinata might have been a vampire but she was not cursed to live a never ending life through memories that would never fade. She was one of the lucky ones of the Hyuuga line, unlike Neji who was burdened to remember for eternity the horrors he had witnessed.

Hyuuga's, because of their human blood could be born with or without immortality. Those condemned to the curse were placed into the clans branch family who served as a guardian to the ones blessed with mortality, and if they inherited the thirst fro blood then they would be there to help them through the transition.

Neji had been the one to help Hinata through many of her lives, lives she had never know she had lived.

"Still I won't let her interfere. I am having enough problems as it is."

"Oh, is the Uchiha charm finally failing?" Neji received a rather dirty glare. Unfortunately he was completely unfazed.

"I wish that was the only problem."

"There are more?" Sasuke didn't like the fact that Neji didn't seem the least bit surprised about this.

"Hn. When he first came here he despised Leben, calling us all monsters for the most part. Thankfully he has put those thoughts behind him. We are more or less friends but..." Kiba came to mind along with the words he had spoken last night. "It seems this Naruto is not into men."

Neji raised a delicate eyebrow. This was something he had not suspected. When a soul is reborn it still carries the same characteristics of the person from their past lives. For example someone who had been shy in a pervious life would still be shy in their next life. Although the shyness can vary a bit from life to life.

So it only made sense that Naruto would be gay in this life since he was obviously gay in his last life.

"That can't be right. Naruto has to be gay, at least to some extent."

"Hn."

"What gave you the idea that he isn't?" There had to be a good reason to cause Sasuke to believe this. He wasn't one to fall for things unless he thought them to be true.

"His friend came by to visit last night and decided to stay the night. He caught me watching Naruto is his sleep. The bastard started spewing crap about how Naruto wasn't gay and that I would only be hurt if I sought more than friendship from him." A growl of frustration erupted from his throat, causing Neji to smirk. It wasn't everyday you saw an Uchiha so roweled up. "At first I brushed it off thinking he didn't know what he was talking about. But now that I think more about it I can't help but see that its true. You should see the looks he gives Sakura, like she is some jewel. I hate the way he looks at her body, he was only supposed to look at me like that."

"Sasuke, despite what the current facts might say I don't believe that all hope is lost. He loved you once so he can love you again. You just have to remind his soul that he loved you. It might be hard but it can be done." It was times like these when Sasuke appreciated Neji. They might not admit to being friends but at least they cared enough about each other to be there when needed.

"Neji..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." He gave another one of his rare smiles before getting up for his seat.

"Well I better get going. I spent enough time chatting away with you. Tenten is going to kill me if I take any longer."

The two said there goodbyes promising to meet up later so that Neji could reintroduce himself to Naruto.

But for now Sasuke would ponder Neji's words and hope that he could find some truth in the jumble of words.

* * *

When Sasuke finally made his way home he was looking forward to some peace and quiet. He needed time to think and possibly curl up in a chair and finish the book he had been reading.

Upon opening the door all his plains for that day flew out the door as he entered.

Yells and laugher could be heard throughout the house. One scream even made the glass of a near by picture quiver. It was one that was taken last year during a trip to the beach. Sasuke didn't care for it much and was slightly put off that it hadn't fallen to the floor broken. Yes, he was in that bad of a mood. In fact he now felt like breaking the picture himself, but resisted the urge.

Coming into the livingroom he tried to ignore the commotion upstairs but it only caused his growing headache to worsen.

'_What the hell are those idiots doing up there?'_ He asked himself, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"Dammit Naruto. I am so going to castrate you and make you choke on your balls." Now that was defiantly Sakura and by the sound of things Naruto was a dead man. So the question still remained what did the blond idiot do?

"Naruto, I think she means it... I think its best to haul ass and hope for the best." Kiba's voice came drifting down the stair case along with the unmistakable sound of stampeding footsteps.

"NARUTO!"

"Shit... Sakura it was a just a dare... come on... it was only harmless fun." Naruto was obviously trying to beg for his life. Sasuke, after knowing Sakura for many years, knew that words would not be enough to calm her raging self.

And like Sasuke had predicted, Sakura was not giving in. "Naruto, I am give you till the count o five to drop them or you are so fucking dead... 1... 2..."

It didn't take long for Naruto to respond. By this time he was almost to the foot of the stair and in plain view for Sasuke to see. He looked a little raged around the edges like he had just wrestled a bear.

"Ok Sakura... I give up... don't kill me..." What came next Sasuke had not seen coming. Apparently Naruto had been caring the object of Sakura's anger and said object was now on a collision course to Sasuke's face.

Sasuke stiffened when soft silk met his face. '_What the hell?'_

The other occupants of the room stiffened and turned their gazes to him when they finally noticed that Sasuke was among them.

Naruto stood, along with Kiba, trying to hold in his fit of giggles.

Sakura on the other hand was as red as a tomato. Never in her life had she been so embarrassed. Oh and out of all the people why did it have to be Sasuke. She was absolutely going to die.

Sasuke hesitantly brought his hand to grab at the offending cloth. His mind was racing to figure out just what it was. Not many thing were made out of silk, at least not that he knew of.

Holding it in front of his face, he studied it. Taking in it small shape and frilly trim.

As realization dawned on him, Sasuke could feel the heat pooling in his cheeks. No wonder Sakura was so pissed. The idiot had stolen her underwear.

He was so going to die. It was one thing to take the underwear in the first place, but he crossed the line when he decided to peg Sasuke in the face.

"You moron... I am going to kill you." And thus began the great chase. Sasuke swiftly tossed Sakura her panties and made a mental note to scrub his face extra well tonight. He then preceded to track Naruto down with promises of a painful death. After all no one got away with throwing undergarments at an Uchiha.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, Sasuke was stopped by an irritated Ino who had an exam to study for.

They ended up receiving a lecture on respecting peoples things, before going their separate ways.

Kiba finally head home to Sasuke's pleasure. He could only take some much of the boys warning and knowing looks. Not to mention Naruto and Kiba together was an accident waiting to happen.

He wanted so much to prove Kiba wrong. To rub the bastard's face in it when he could once again call Naruto his.

Now the only thing that remained was how to go about doing it.

And even if Sasuke managed to win Naruto over, would he still want him after hearing the past that they shared and the wrong Sasuke had committed.

Keeping the past from Naruto was not an option for Sasuke. He could not lie to the boy, nor would he live a lie.

That though was in the far future. He would worry about that when the time came.

For now he would focus on winning the blondes heart.

* * *

Things began to slow down for Sasuke as the small holiday drew nearer. The play had finally premiered and got great reviews according to the student paper.

Sasuke could really care less either way, or so he told himself. He was just glad it was over. It was a pain trying to work with people as hard headed as the group of actors he had been given.

Sometimes he wondered if it would just be easier to just say screw it and let them do as they wished. Though being an Uchiha kept him from doing just that. Anything his name was connected to had to be of the highest standards.

If it said he directed a play then that play better be damn good or god forbid the consequences.

It was over and he would rather keep it that way. The last thing he wanted was to remember all the migraines he had received because of it.

Now he had only the break to look forward to. It would be a chance to relax. He wouldn't be doing anything, he never did.

To him Thanksgiving was just another pointless American holiday. It was just another excuse to bring families together. So to him it was pointless. He had no family to go to and never would.

The whole idea of it pissed him off, so he had decided that the holiday would just not exist for him. Just as 'family' did. It was a word that meant nothing and carried with it no warm thoughts.

Sighing he put the book he had been reading down. Tomorrow was Tuesday and their last day of class and then he would be free to leave this place.

Sasuke would travel to his empty home and spend his time in silence. Maybe that was why he was drawn to Naruto so much. The boy just seems to lighten a room and cheer a sullen atmosphere.

"Sasuke!"

'_Speak of the devil.'_ Naruto came bounding out of the kitchen waving what seemed to be a cookie.

"What is it? I was reading." He tried to glare but Naruto seemed immune to them or maybe he just didn't care.

Naruto ignored the harsh tone not letting it get his spirits down.

"You have to try these cookies Hinata just made. They are like the greatest hunks of chocolate doughy goodness I have ever—"

"Enough! I don't like sweets." Sasuke cut him off. Scratch what he had said about Naruto earlier. He had no clue why he liked the boy. He was nothing but a headache.

"But Sasuke..." A pout formed on those kissable lips. Naruto was just so cute when he pouted.

"No."

"Aw, Sasuke your no fun. Can't you lighten up." Sasuke just ignored him preferring to go back to reading his book. He could hear Naruto shifting from foot to foot as if he was wanting to go on with his whining, as Sasuke would like to put it. It would have been rather annoying if Sasuke wasn't already used to such things. After all when you lived with Sakura and Ino you had to learn to tune things like that out or you would go insane. Sometimes he thought they did it on purpose just to see if they could get a reaction out of him.

He even swore the kept count on how many times they could get him pissed over small things like the tapping a finger or the popping of gum. He might just have to ask them about that now.

"Na– Naruto... the next batch is r–ready." Hinata poked her head out of the kitchen, signaling that it was time for Naruto to return to his duty of being the official taste tester.

He gave Sasuke one last look before inhaling the cookie and making his way back into the kitchen leaving Sasuke to himself. Sometimes Naruto could just not understand the guy. One minute he was friendly and talkative and the next he was a bastard with a stick of ice shoved up his ass.

"So Hinata which ones are these?" He looked at the tray of fresh from the oven cookies. They smelled delicious and made his mouth water.

"Snicker doodle..." Was the mumbled response.

Naruto looked over them trying to find the biggest before gobbling it up in two large bits.

"Oh, Hinata they are the best." She blushed at his complement.

"If... y–you like t–them... I can make you a b–batch to take home wi–with you. I h–hope your... family will like them..." Even though Hinata didn't mean to, she had cut him deep with those words, but how was she to know about his current lack of family.

He had told no one except Sasuke.

He had tried not to give the issue much thought, but as Thanksgiving neared it was hard to ignore the excited conversation that spread throughout the school about the coming holiday. Although he had tried not to show it bothered him, he had still become more quiet and with drawn when ever the holiday came up.

Yesterday though he had received a call from Iruka saying that he would be spending Thanksgiving with him.

It might not be what Naruto wanted, but still it was something. It somehow made Naruto feel wanted and loved. Like he had a family again.

'_At least I don't have to spend it alone.'_ He thought.

By this time Hinata was watching Naruto with worry. The boy was not usually this quiet. Had she said something wrong?

"Naruto...?"

"Hmm... Oh sorry Hinata. Of course I would love if you made me some." She flashed him a shy smile and set of too work on the next batch.

Knowing he wouldn't be needed anytime soon, Naruto decided to bug Sasuke again. Maybe this time the bastard would talk.

Coming back out into the living room he saw Sasuke sitting in the same position, reading the same book.

"So what are you reading?" Naruto asked, taking a seat on the armrest of Sasuke's chair.

He looked at the blond, not bothering to put his book down.

"Edgar Alan Poe." Was the short reply.

"Figures, it somehow fits you." It was the truth, after all Sasuke reminded him of a raven for some reason.

"Oh, you think so." Sasuke put down the book and eyed Naruto with interest.

'_Yes got him to put the damn thing down.'_ Naruto cheered mentally.

"Well yeah. I mean his stories are dark and mysterious and what not... and it just seems to fit you."

"Hn." Sasuke looked back to his book, getting ready to pick up were he left off. Naruto saw this and began chatting again.

"So what are ya doing for the holiday?" It seemed to be the generic question of the week so he decided to go with that.

He got shot a dirty look and was ignored.

"Sasuke?"

"I won't be doing anything... after all there is no point in celebrating a holiday when you will be alone. There is no point in it." And it was the truth, as depressing as it maybe.

"What you too?" Naruto's eyes had grown soft. How could he forget that Sasuke had no one either. Though he would have guessed that Sasuke would have someone to spend it with considering how popular he was.

Just then a though can to mind. Maybe he could change that for Sasuke.

"Hey since you obviously have nothing better to do. Why don't you come with me to Iruka's. I am sure he wouldn't mind having you?"

Iruka? Last time Sasuke had seen that man was when he had a check up a few months back. He had no clue that he was the one to take Naruto in.

"Hn."

"Oh come on Sasuke it will be fun." Sasuke knew that this would be a good chance to get closer to Naruto, yet at the same time it felt like he would be entering his own personal hell if he were to give in.

To bad Sasuke could never say no to Naruto.

"Fine." Naruto gave a loud whoop and preceded to grin like an idiot.

And that was how he found himself seated in Naruto's room at Iruka's house.

The room was rather plain with white walls, a bed, dresser, and a window. Somehow it just didn't fit the loud boy.

"So what do ya think?" Naruto plopped clumsily on the bed next to Sasuke.

He looked around the room studying everything before answering. "It nice... although rather plain."

"Yeah, it needs so color." Naruto agreed, he had been planing to put some posters up or something but felt funny putting whole in the walls since it wasn't really his house.

Sasuke's eyes began to wonder again, taking in the nicknacks that were scattered about. Some CDs laid here and there, clothes were scattered about, and a books laid in a pile by the bed. One of them stuck out to Sasuke, it might have had something to do with the be 'Do Not Enter' sticker stuck to the front.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Sasuke picked it up and flipped it open. He was met, much to his amusement, of pictures with a small toddler with bright blond hair and blue eyes. One picture on particular showed the child in a highchair with baby food all over his face.

Naruto noticed what had suddenly caught Sasuke's attention and almost died in embarrassment.

He made a lunge for it but Sasuke was too fast and snatched it away.

"Hey give that back. Don't look at those."

"Oh, but why not, you are such a cute baby." Sasuke teased with a smirk.

Naruto made another grab for it, this time snatching it away. Sasuke went to grab it back at the same time cause him to fall forward on the bed as Naruto fell backwards.

With a squawk Sasuke fell on Naruto who held the book above his head. Sasuke was holding onto it was well which brought his face to hover above Naruto's.

They both laid there panting from the exertion not bothering to take in the position.

Sasuke was the first one to notice the intimate closeness. It was like some many times before now, when he had Naruto would wrestle about and end up making love in the end.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and noticed the faraway look in his eye. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the position.

"Sasuke?" It was a breathless whisper caused by his lost breath from the horseplay they had been doing before.

Hearing his name being spoken like that was not help Sasuke's resolve. He need to get away from Naruto before he did something he regretted.

Before anything could be done, Naruto decided to wiggle a bit since one of his legs was falling asleep.

Sasuke lost it, how could he not when he felt the body he knew so well move against his own after so long.

Deep onyx eyes looked into cerulean pools and he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Naruto..." It was said with so much raw emotion that Naruto froze. Not only was it the first Sasuke had ever said his name, but it was the first time he had ever heard his name spoken like that. It sent chills down his spin and gave him a sense of comforting familiarity. It was like a lullaby that served to calm his nerves and confusion.

In that moment Naruto felt closer to Sasuke than anyone before him.

Even as Sasuke closed the gap between him and firmly placed warm lips upon his own in a sweet and loving kiss, Naruto didn't any panic only contentment and a desire for something that he had long forgotten but was sure Sasuke could give him.

Sasuke was in heaven, but in the far reaches of his mind he knew that he had just paved his way into hell.

With the way things were going this was going to prove be an awkward and embarrassing holiday.

Sasuke only hope he would be able to make it out alive with out losing Naruto.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Feedbacks great._

_Thanks so much for all the reviews... I will try to reply to all of them._

_Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it._

_-Akiru-_


	8. Feelings

_Beta'ed by SoulSpirtHeart_

* * *

Chapter Seven: Feelings

* * *

"Ecstasy is a Feeling that comes Only When the Heart is tuned to that pitch of Love Which melts it...Which makes it Tender...Which gives it Gentleness... Which makes it Humble"

Hazat Inayat Kaan - The Sufi Message

* * *

Naruto's eyes were wide in shock. What was happening? This was not supposed to happen, it wasn't on any of Naruto's mental itineraries and it surely was not anything normal.

He might never have been kissed before but he was willing to bet that this feeling was in the strange and unusual category.

His body felt light and pleasant, like he was floating. It was similar to the warm, fuzzy feeling you got at the end of one of those old sappy romances. The feeling in itself was not odd, but it was odd that it was caused by kissing Sasuke; his male friend.

Still that was not what Naruto was worried about. His main concern was within the inner workings of his own mind.

Scenes flashed passed his minds eye like an old movie, showing him things of what he guessed to be the past. If Naruto had to guess they all seemed to take place during the 1600's or somewhere close to that period in time, but that didn't make sense at all.

Within one he saw a boy a little younger than himself crying. His long ragged blond hair fell into his face, shielding his identity from Naruto's eyes. It was a pathetic sight and pulled at his heartstrings.

It was soon gone, replaced by another and then another. They came and went within seconds leaving Naruto confused and curious. He wanted so much to ne be able to understand what was going on in this little movie within his head.

The next one caused Naruto's stomach to turn in an oddly pleasurable way. He took in the sight of two bodies as they moved together on the forest floor beneath a crescent moon. It didn't take him long to figure out what exactly they were doing. It was blatantly obvious with how they moved against each other sensually.

His mind brought him closer to the two, who appeared to be both males, in the throws of passion. Naruto really didn't want to watch two guys getting it on, but as he got a better look at them, he found himself being drawn towards them.

Something in the back of his mind was pushing him forward, closer and closer till he stopped. It was then when he realized that he was not looking at two strangers like he originally thought.

Lying before him was none other than himself and Sasuke. No it couldn't be. It made no sense; it just couldn't be them. They just looked oddly similar... yeah that was it.

Naruto would have found comfort in that assumption if the Sasuke look a like had just not called out Naruto's name in ecstasy.

It was too much, he would never dream of this let alone even think about it. He would never let Sasuke do anything like that to him. They were both guys after all. It was wrong, and he was most certainly not gay.

'_Then why is he kissing you now?'_

A voice broke him from the spell he had been under, bringing him head-first into reality.

Like the voice had said Naruto was still letting Sasuke have free rein on his mouth. It felt so good, and it really shouldn't feel that good.

He needed this to stop, like right now.

Finding his strength once again, Naruto pushed Sasuke back. The force of the blow sent

Sasuke falling back on the floor with a thud and a low groan.

"Fucking idiot, that hurt."

Naruto said nothing. He sat motionless on the bed, a hand covering his mouth and a deep blush on his checks. He was trying to make sense out of the whole occurrence.

Sasuke smirked at the cute look on Naruto's stunned face, but the smirk soon vanished keeping the Uchiha's face emotionless.

It had taken him a minute after hitting the floor to see the consequences of what he had just done.

Naruto was looking at him in panic, confusion, and shock. Sasuke was happy to note that disgust was not one of the emotions the moron was displaying.

That was at least one point to his side, but this little stunt of his might have just ruined everything for good. How could he risk scaring Naruto away now.

"Sa–Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled not really knowing what to say. The silence was becoming unnerving and he needed to break it before he did something stupid. "What... Why?"

He had to ask, even if his better judgment was telling him to forget about it and pretend it never happened.

Sasuke looked at him. He tried to pick up on anything that might betray the blond's real feelings, but found nothing. The question was innocent enough, but not one Sasuke was able to answer right now.

He could just see it. _'Oh don't worry about it Naruto. You are just my lover, from a few hundred of years back, reborn. I just got tired of looking and not touching so I lost control and jumped your sexy ass.' _Oh yeah, that would go over real well. He might just be able to come out of that with his balls intact if he was lucky.

So instead Sasuke opted for the safe approach.

"Hn..."

It was short, simple, and just so Uchiha. Unfortunately it did not have the desired affect.

Naruto's confused face twisted into a glare, his fist tightening in the sheets.

"Dammit Sasu–"

"Naruto, Sasuke! Dinner" Both jumped as Iruka's voice drifted up the stairs. Man someone must have loved Sasuke up there. He really couldn't have asked for better timing.

Without looking back, Sasuke got up and left the room. He knew that if he stayed Naruto would try to milk an answer out of him one way or another. For now it would be better if he could just get Naruto to forget about the whole incident.

Naruto cursed as he watched Sasuke slip through the door. This was not what he was expecting to happen when he imagined what it would be like spending the holiday with Sasuke. Maybe they would joke around, play some video games, maybe even get into an argument or two, but not this. Never would he of thought this would happen.

Now that he sat alone in his room, Naruto couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. Like a big secret was being keep from him and he couldn't put the pieces of the bigger puzzle together. Right now he wanted nothing more than answers.

Finally getting up he headed out the door and followed Sasuke down stairs.

Each step he took only helped to fill the dread in the pit of his stomach. He knew how awkward this was going to be.

Walking into the dinning room Naruto saw that Iruka and Sasuke were already seated and waiting for him.

Sasuke was looking intently at a roll on his plate determined not to look at the blond boy who had entered the room.

Iruka, who noticed something was off, ushered Naruto to sit across from Sasuke at the table before filling his plate with food.

"So Naruto, how's school been?" Glad for something to occupy his mind, Naruto eagerly answered.

"It's been really great... I mean I have made a lot of friends and the teachers are great.

Although some of them are rather weird." Iruka laugh at that. He knew for a fact that some of the teachers were a little different, to put it kindly.

"So I guess you are fitting in then... and how are you doing though, with this new..." He tried to think of a way to put it. "Umm... this new life style?" He finally said.

Naruto took a moment, mulling it over in his head. He guessed he was doing fine. Being a vampire was not as bad as he first thought, even if it was hard in the beginning.

"Its been fine, even if it was a little stressful in the beginning. But, I think I have adjusted well." He took a sip from the glass in front of him.

The blood flowed down his throat nicely leaving his taste buds tingling. It was funny how different blood tasted to him now. As a human it had tasted so tangy and bitter, like licking a penny, but not now. As a vampire it tasted so sweet and divine. It made no sense how it could work out that way but it did.

It was a small blessing in this so called cursed existence. He was sure he would never have been able to drink the stuff if it tasted the way it did before.

Maybe they did something to the blood after they got it, then that led to the question of how they got it.

Seeing it as a completely logical question to ask, Naruto turned to Iruka.

"Hey Iruka?"

Said man turned to him, taking a bite of his green beans in the process.

"Where do they get all the blood?" He held up his glass swishing the liquid inside.

"Here and there... mostly it comes from blood drives specifically for this purpose. Other times its blood taken from corpses." Naruto made a face at that. Had he been drinking dead peoples blood?

"We have to get it where we can since Leben's are no longer aloud to feast on humans themselves."

'_Hmm... that law didn't really help me any.'_ Naruto thought bitterly.

"If that's the case than why can't we just feed off of other vampires." Sasuke who had been ignoring the conversation finally looked up.

"Leben's feeding off other Leben's is not something to be taken lightly." Iruka explained.

"What is it some sort of forbidden practice?" Naruto asked, some what confused.

"No its not that it forbidden... how to explain... umm... lets just say that to share your blood with another Leben is like give your self, heart and soul, over to them. It's the ultimate commitment among our people. Its kinda like marriage for humans, but so much more."

Naruto nodded, his eyes reflexively flashing to Sasuke then back to Iruka.

"After preforming the act, you are forever bond to that person for all eternity. Few ever give themselves over fully anymore... you see when you are reborn you are never promised to be born the same time as your lover or even in the same area. Sometimes you will be tens of years older than your lover or even thousands of miles away without even knowing they are there."

"That's kinda sad, but what if you give up and decide to find someone else?"

Iruka gave him a stern stare and Sasuke mumbled something under his breath.

"If you were to go against the bond and try to bond with another than you will feel a pain that few have ever thought existed. Plus your body only craves for your one and only."

Shocked blue eyes stared at Iruka. Naruto didn't think that something so serious could be the result of being unfaithful.

"But what causes the bond to happen anyways, I mean you are only drinking each others blood."

"Lets just say Leben blood is a sort of parasitic substance. A good example is how you were turned into a vampire. When you were bitten, the Leben must have added a drop of their blood into the open punchers on your neck. After that the cells in that single drop being to divide and infect you normal blood cells. Soon the Leben blood is all that remains in your system, aside from about ten percent of your original blood."

"You mean that bastard's blood is in me?" Naruto looked out right disgusted.

"No, not anymore. The blood that runs through your veins is yours and yours alone. Now if you were to drink, lets say, Sasuke's blood—" Now that was the wrong thing to say. Sasuke choked on his piece of chicken and Naruto turned red.

"Hypothetically speaking..." Iruka amended quickly. "Well if you were then his blood would be absorbed by your digestive system and the blood would end up seeping into your blood stream. It would then begin to mingle and merge with your own, resulting in a mixture of both of your blood."

Naruto couldn't say he understood it fully but it made sense to some point. Although he knew it wasn't anything he had to worry about. He doubted he would ever come to love someone so much that he would give himself over to them.

"But as you can see it's not something to be taken lightly. You would really be bonding yourself to a person. And bonding with another after having already bonded, would cause your body to reject the new blood and I can a assure you that it is not a happy experience."

Naruto nodded, before going back to eating. He really didn't want his food to get cold, plus he didn't like the fact that Sasuke popped up in his mind every time he thought about bonding with some one.

Things just kept getting more and more difficult as time when on. What was next? Was he going to dream of Sasuke tonight too?

* * *

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat while trying to gasp for breath. The dream had been so real that it left his mind in a twisted confusion.

If he had not know better he would have thought it was an event that had actually taken place.

It was yet again that he was dragged back to that dark clearing under the crescent moon. Only this time it wasn't a clip, but a full blown double feature.

He remembered as he kissed Sasuke passionately. Touching his bare chest, running skilled fingers over toned muscles.

He felt the pleasure as he prepared himself for Sasuke, with his own hands.

And he felt the love and the ecstasy as he came with Sasuke inside him. It was really too much, the flood of emotion and confusion that the dream had left within him.

Naruto finally turned to look down to the floor. Sasuke slept on a makeshift bed that Iruka had prepared. Thankfully he was still asleep; he didn't feel like trying to explain the current event to the Uchiha.

Then again that would only be if Sasuke even questioned anything. The fact was, neither of them had spoken to the other since the 'incident' as Naruto called it.

Naruto wanted to question Sasuke. He wanted to know why he had kissed him and why he started to have all these visions after.

Sadly that would require Naruto to actual confront Sasuke about it and he didn't think he had the courage to anymore.

He was tried of life changing surprises and he had an odd feeling that this was another one. It was better if he just left it be. What ever was happening now would go away with time. It was just one dream, nothing more. Tomorrow night he would sleep soundly and wake up. Nothing would happen and everything would be fine.

Sasuke stirred in his sleep and Naruto couldn't help but take in the sight before him. His pale skin glowed in the moonlight from the window. He was just so angelic and handsome, a real piece of art work.

'_I wonder if his skin is really as soft as it was in the dream.'_ Naruto's face immediately reddened. What the hell was he thinking? This whole thing really was going to his head and making him insane.

He was not gay. How many times would he have to tell himself that? He had never been attracted to men. He wasn't even turned on by a gay porno that Kiba had made him watch one time. He found nothing sexy or beautiful about a man, yet here he laid staring at Sasuke and finding him attractive.

Maybe being turned into a vampire really did mess with his brain.

Naruto groaned and sunk back down into the comforting embrace of his comforter. It was too early to be worrying about this shit.

Tomorrow he would start worrying, but right now he was going to sleep.

* * *

The morning came before Naruto knew it and he could say that he was happy to see it. He was in a foul mood because of last nights events and just wished he could stay in bed.

Sleeping and forgetting about the real world sounded pretty good right about now.

Unfortunately it was indeed Thanksgiving and he knew that it would be rude to Iruka to stay in bed. From what he had gathered from the man, he was planning a rather big feast that made him wonder exactly who else he was expecting.

He decided that it was better for him to get up on his own and get ready than be forced out of bed.

He was just looking for something to wear when his bedroom door opened and Sasuke walked in. Usually this wouldn't have been a problem, but Sasuke was not in his normal state of dress.

The boy was only clad in a towel, his black hair hugging his face still wet from the shower he had obviously taken.

Naruto felt his face heat up and was not happy to note that all his blood had decided to rush south. Sasuke looked down right hot and Naruto wanted to kill himself for ever thinking so.

He had no clue what was going on. He had seem Sasuke half naked many times before and had never reacted like this.

'_That stupid kiss... what the hell did he do to me?_' It had to be the kiss's fault, what else could it have been?

Deciding it was best to flee before Sasuke caught sight of the tent in his pants, Naruto ran heading for the bathroom. Instead of a nice hot shower Naruto would be having and ice cold one instead.

Sasuke just blinked in confusion. 'What's up with him?' He asked himself. It wasn't everyday that he made Naruto blush... not for a long time anyways. Shrugging his shoulders he got dressed.

Iruka needed help with the meal so he was planning on doing just that. Maybe later he could figure out what was bother the blond.

Iruka was in the kitchen preparing the turkey.

"Hello Sasuke." He greeted when he saw his guest. "I hope you slept well."

Sasuke nodded and went over to help start making the stuffing. Soon Naruto joined them, acting as if nothing had happened earlier.

He and Sasuke were still not talking, unless you counted the orders they shouted at each other as they tried to move about the kitchen.

The hours passed and finally the meal was done and set neatly on the table. Naruto noted that four plates had been set out, meaning that some else would be joining them.

As if on cue the doorbell rang along with a shout of 'I'm getting it.' from Iruka.

Naruto heard talking at the front of the house as the guest was let in. Soon enough Iruka came back followed by none other than Kakashi.

"Ka– Kakashi? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, earning him a smile from his teacher.

Sasuke joined them in the room giving Kakashi a nodded. He didn't even seem phased by this event.

Naruto though was confused. Seeing this, Sasuke decided that he had better say something before the blond was able to make a fool out of himself.

"Kakashi is the one who sired Iruka back before the laws were put into place," whispered

Sasuke in Naruto's ear. "Although now all the old pervert tries to do is get into Iruka's pants."

Naruto watched as Kakashi's hand was slapped away in an attempt to grope the young doctor. This was news to him, he would have never of guessed that Kakashi would be into guys.

Maybe all vampires were gay. That would explain why Sasuke had kissed him and why he was experiencing the things he was.

"So Naruto, Sasuke, are you two enjoying the holiday?" Kakashi asked as he passed a bowl of

mashed potatoes around. "I would assume you two are behaving yourselves."

Sasuke glared at the man in front of him. "Yes, it's been... nice"

"It's been really great. I needed a break from school." Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well that's good." Kakashi took a bite of turkey and turned to face Naruto. "It's nice to see how close you and Sasuke have become. I mean he's been through a lot and I don't think he could loose you aga— Oww.." He was cut off as a well aimed kick was placed on his leg.

Sasuke was glaring at him, his eyes flashing red.

Naruto who was oblivious to all of this focused on Kakashi.

"What do you mean loose me? I'm right here."

He only received a smile from his teacher in apology before turning to Sasuke in stead.

"So I guess you haven't—"

"No."

"And he hasn't—"

"No."

By this time both Iruka and Naruto where thoroughly confused. All Naruto knew was that it was something important and that it was something Sasuke really didn't want to talk about.

"So Iruka, I was thinking that maybe you would like to accompany me on a date tomorrow?"

Iruka looked up blushing. When would Kakashi ever give up? He did like the man, but he was hesitant to get in a relationship with a guy that did nothing but read porn all day.

"You know my answer."

Kakashi pouted and began eating once again. The rest of dinner went smoothly. Ever once in a while Kakashi would ask a question or flirt shamelessly with Iruka. Sasuke even seemed to finally come out of his shell and talked with Naruto a bit.

All in all the day went well and Naruto was care free for the first time in what seemed like days.

It was only when he laid down on his bed to go to sleep did the uneasiness return to him. Would he be plagued with dreams once again? It was only when he focused on Sasuke's rhythmic breathing did he finally drift off.

* * *

_Naruto glared at the boy in front of him. How dare he come here and make a proposition like he had. It was an impossible request, no matter how much he wish__ed__ to fulfil__l__ it. _

"_Please Naruto, we can make this work." The boy pleaded. _

"_Sasuke you know we can't. Do you even know the risk we would be taking__ If anyone found out I would be hanged, my father would be pulled from his position, and my family's name would be cursed." Sasuke shook his head, not wanting to believe Naruto's words. _

"_I can promise you that we won't get caught. Besides how is this any different from you hanging around Neji?" He growned out, causing Naruto to flinch. _

"_Neji is only a friend, plus he is not been feeding off of me like you have. If someone see's those makings than I am done for, and hell__ if they find out I am being bedded by a messenger of the devil." It was Sasuke's turn to flinch at Naruto's words. He was no messenger of any devil. _

"_Don't start your fucking shit with me. You know right well I am no demon."_

"_Yes Sasuke, I know you are not a demon, but they don't. If they found out, I would be dead, and I don't want to die." I tear leaked from the corner of a bright blue eye. _

_Sasuke stepped closer, whipping the tear away. He couldn't stand seeing Naruto cry. _

"_I promise no one will find out. I love you, remember that. I won't ever let any harm come to you. That is the vow I make to you." _

_He felt Naruto nodded as he enveloped him in a warm embrace. Holding him as he cried. _

_Yes, Sasuke would keep him safe. Naruto was sure of that._

* * *

Naruto woke in the morning, tears flowing out of his eyes. They wouldn't stop, just like in his dream.

He whipped them away furiously, while trying to fight the deep wanting to be in Sasuke's arms.

At this point Naruto knew something was really going on and that Sasuke might be the only one with answers.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *


	9. Love

_A/N - Wow all those wonderful reviews touched me so much that I had to update again. I love hearing from you all so much._

_Well I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope it begins to answer all of your questions... if not then ask in a review and I will answer... ((or email me if your on AFF.))_

_Also my Beta is out of town so this is un-Beta'ed... if anyone want to pick up for her in her absence then please email me... or send me a message. _

* * *

Chapter Eight: Love

* * *

"They do not love that do not show their love. The course of true love never did run smooth. Love is a familiar. Love is a devil. There is no evil angel but Love."

-William Shakespeare-

* * *

"_Come on Neji. I don't want to meet him. One of you is enough, I really don't need to be associating with another blood sucker."__Naruto playfully punched Neji in the arm. The brunette just glared at his friend. _

"_Just shut up and follow me." He turned to watch where he was going in the thick underbrush of the forest. Every once in a while his dark brown shoulder length locks would get caught on a stray twig and he would curse. _

_Naruto would giggle when this happened, earning him yet another glare. _

"_You should grow your hair out a bit so you can pull it back like mine." He pointed to his unruly hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail with a single black ribbon. _

"_I might have to do that in the future." He pulled a small twig out of his hair throwing it away. _

_They had been walking for sometime now. Naruto really didn't know where they were going, only that they were meeting one of Neji's old friends that had finally been able to visit. _

_Naruto really didn't see the point in having to come along. This was Neji's friend after all, and if Neji wanted to see him then he was perfectly able to do so by himself. _

_He was suddenly stopped by a hand pressing against his chest. _

_Neji was looking at him in amusement, a taunting smirk playing across pale lips. "You're daydreaming again."_

_Naruto puffed his cheeks out in irritation at being caught spacing out once again. _

"_We're here." He looked past Neji and out into the wide clearing that they had stepped into. _

_The spring breeze was light and cool blowing his blond hair making it look like golden silk in the sun light. Around them wild flowers bloomed making the scenery a splash of color. _

_Amongst the sea of color one thing stood out to Naruto, a black speck in a pool of flowers. _

_A few feet away stood a boy that was no older than himself. His hair was an inky black that contrasted with his pale skin. The ebony locks flowed in the wind, trying to break free of the ponytail they had been confined in. _

_As if sensing there presence her turned around locking dark eyes on clear blue. It took Naruto's breath away. Could a person be this beautiful. He was indeed a piece of art. _

"_Sasuke!" Neji called from his side. The boy named Sasuke nodded his head; walking forward never braking eye contact with Naruto._

* * *

Naruto woke up yet again from one of the many dreams that had been plaguing his nights. Thankfully tonight's little 'movie' was PG and did not consist of lustful words and passionate kisses.

He didn't know how much more of that he could take. He was already fighting down the blushes when he was with Sasuke. Not to mention the feeling the sight of the boy would bring up. Most of them weren't the least bit innocent either.

Sighing he looked at the time. It was 10:43, and today was the last day of their break. He and Sasuke had plan to leave around noon so that they could get back and have time to unpack before dinner.

He had to admit that he would miss Iruka. The guy was very hospitable and reminded him of his own father, before he died.

Naruto yawned and stretched out his tired muscles. He might as well get up now and get a shower in. He removed himself from bed, noticing that Sasuke was nowhere to be found. His blanks were folded neatly and placed on top of the old mattress he had been using to sleep on.

'_He's probably down stairs.'_ Naruto thought as he made his way to the shower, making sure to grab some clothes before hand.

It only took him a few minutes before he was reentering his room fully dressed and drying his hair in a towel.

Sasuke was throwing some clothes in a bag when Naruto entered.

"You packed yet?"

"Not yet, I just have to get some stuff together. Its shouldn't take too long." Sasuke nodded and went back to work.

"Ok, just be sure to be done by twelve. Iruka wants to leave by then." He received the wave of a hand in acknowledgment. Naruto was too busy in his packing to give him much more than that.

He just shook his head. It wasn't like Sasuke would expect much more from an idiot like him. Still, he couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face as he left the room. Some things just never changed in Sasuke's opinion.

The break had gone by quickly and Sasuke was looking forward to going home even if he would miss staying here. It was nice feeling like he belonged to a family again, not that he would ever admit to it.

By now even the uneasiness he and Naruto felt around each other was gone. It was like the kiss had never happened. Although Naruto still acted weird around him at times. He often wondered if the boy was hiding something from him.

"Oh there you are Sasuke." Iruka came up the stairs as Sasuke got ready to descend them. "Did you tell Naruto when we are leaving?"

"Yeah. He's getting packed now."

"Good, I would check on him every once in a while. He seems to get distracted easily."

Yeah, that was Naruto alright. Can't focus on one thing for more than five minutes.

"I will be sure to keep an eye on him." Sasuke continued his way downstairs and into the livingroom. Right now there was nothing to really do in the house. So instead of trying to fight the boredom, he decided that he would take a nap on the couch and wait till the time came for them to leave.

Naruto poked Sasuke's cheek with his finger.

"Oi, bastard get up."

"Naruto, watch your language." Iruka called from the entry way.

"Come on, wake up" He poked more forcefully. This time he got a soft moan from the sleeping 'prince'.

"Hmm...Naruto" Sasuke mumbled to himself causing Naruto to blush.

"Don't do this too me." This was not the time to have the memories of the previous nights resurfacing. Especially not the steamy ones.

Sasuke let out another low moan.

Naruto grew redder cursing under his breath. He couldn't take much more of this and it looked like his poking technic wasn't working.

Plan number two was fool proof though. He none too gently pushed Sasuke off the couch, making him fall on the floor with a loud thud.

"Shit... what was that for?" Sasuke growled as he looked up at the seemingly innocent blond.

"You were moaning." Was the only reason he gave, before rejoining Iruka by the door.

"What took you so long?" Iruka gave him a look that clearly told him to stop fooling around.

"It was his fault." He grumbled, pointing to Sasuke who had just joined them with his bag in tow.

"Whatever, lets just get going." Iruka nodded and opened the door, letting the two boys go out ahead of him so that he could stay behind and lock up.

Naruto really couldn't wait to get back to school. He hoped that all these problems would be left behind here. Maybe it was something in the air here that made him dream up some freaky stuff.

Plus He missed Hinata's cooking.

* * *

Naruto really didn't think he could be in a better mood. For one thing classes were over for the day and he had absolutely no homework, which was a surprise in itself. More importantly though, it had been exactly three days since he left Iruka's and he had not dreamt a single dream. Well unless you count the cross-dressing one, but was of little importance.

It looked like whatever it was had left him back at Iruka's. '_Must have been something in the air.'_ He mused.

Things had gone back to normal and everything was peachy. Tonight he was going to meet a friend of Sasuke's. Which was shocking since he thought the Uchiha had no friends. He chuckled lightly to himself. He should really ease up on the guy sometimes, after all he was his friend.

After that he could look forward to a nice home cooked meal courtesy of Hinata, and then a movie before bed.

Yes life was great, the food was good and the blood plentiful. Again he laughed at his inner thoughts.

"What's so funny?" Naruto looked up to see Sasuke standing behind him, resting his arms on the back of the couch.

"Nothing really, just thinking."

"Oh really, well that's something new." He smirked at the look Naruto gave him.

"Bastard." As time went on the insults became less and less severe and often had an affection undertone. It was there way of showing that they cared for the other, and that they were friends.

Although the other occupants of the house often worried that they would find mangled pieces of Naruto laying around after some of their fights.

"Well are you ready to go? I told him I would meet him in courtyard in ten minutes." Sasuke tapped his watch showing him that they had already wasted five minutes bickering.

"Ok, just let me go get my jacket." Naruto ran off to his room to retrieve said article of clothing.

In the meantime Sasuke made his way over to the door to wait.

As he passed the kitchen he took notice of Sakura who was working on a paper she had due for her creative writing class.

"You're going back out?" She called to Sasuke.

"Yeah, going to go see Neji." He had been bugging Sasuke for sometime to meet with Naruto. So after finally growing tired of hearing the pleas, if they could even be called that, he gave in.

"Oh, well is coming back with you to see the movie?" Sasuke nodded just as Naruto came stampeding down the stairs.

"You're going to have your hands full tonight. He seems to be in a hyper mood." Sakura chucked at the look on Sasuke's face. "Have fun." With that she turned back to her paper, finding the inspiration that she had lost moments ago.

"What were you too talking about." Naruto asked.

"Nothing, come on." They walked out the door and into the freezing air. It seemed as if the temperature was dropping by the hour. Pretty soon they would be in the negatives.

The sky was a dull gray giving of the impression that it could snow at any minute. Naruto loved the snow and hoped that they would get some soon. Maybe he could even sucker Sasuke into a snowball fight.

Clutching his jacket tighter around himself, Naruto followed Sasuke as they marched through the courtyard towards the center. If one looked close enough, you could see the out line of a boy sitting on one of the many benches. A bush was obstructing the view making it hard for Naruto to see the individual.

When they got closer the boy seemed to sense them and stood turning to face them.

"Hey Sasuke, took you long enough." Came the boys smooth voice. It kinda reminded him of Sasuke's.

"Not my fault. This one," He pointed at Naruto. "Took too damn long trying to find his jacket."

"Hey, I was quick." he huffed.

"Hn."

Neji smirked at the interaction between the two. It was really like old times.

"So you must be Naruto." Naruto who had been glaring at Sasuke the whole time finally turned to take a good look at the boy before him.

What he saw made him gasp. He knew this boy. He had seen him so many times before, only this time it wasn't in the form of a dream.

There was some differences between the two though. This boy was older than the one in the dream and this one had longer hair that hung to the middle of his back.

A small smile crossed his face as one dream slipped into his mind.

"So you did ended up growing it out." Naruto mumbled to himself not even realizing it.

Sasuke and Neji turned to look at Naruto, their eyes wide.

"What did you say?" Neji asked, not believing what he had just heard.

Naruto looked at the man who he knew now to be Neji.

"Did I say that out loud?" Both boys nodded.

"Tell me." Neji demanded.

"Neji, it was nothing really. I was just talking to myself." Naruto tried to explain, not knowing he had made another slip of tongue.

"How do you know my name? How do you know that I was Neji?" He advanced on Naruto, standing in front of him.

Sasuke kept still not knowing what to make of this. How did Naruto know all of this?

"Tell me now Naruto? How do you know my name and what did you mean 'so you ended up growing it out'?" Naruto looked to Sasuke for help but saw the same confusion in his eyes.

'_What do I say?'_ He could not think of any rational explanation for the knowledge that he should not posses.

He shouldn't have know this was Neji. He had never met the guy in person, only in his dreams. Wait, did that mean that his dreams were realer than he thought.

He didn't want to even think of that possibility. Even though his body yearned to be touched like he had in his dreams and by the man that was standing a few feet away.

Naruto turned his attention back on Neji.

"I don't know... Sasuke mention you and I just assumed." It was a pitiful excuse but it would have to work.

"Fine, but that does not explain the comment on my hair." Neji was yelling now. He was desperate for an answer. Naruto should not have known he had grown it out. The comment he had made, made no sense. He should not remember any of that.

"I..." he trailed off.

Sasuke, seeing that this was going to go nowhere, stepped in.

"Come on, lets forget this." He gave Neji a look that told him that they would talk about this later. It was not an issue that would be forgotten quickly.

Naruto gave Sasuke a relieved smile. He would have to be more careful of what he said in the future.

"So are we going to go watch that movie?" He tried to lighten the mood, but Neji and Sasuke both looked sort of out of it at the moment.

The two said nothing but followed Naruto back to their rooms.

As Naruto walked ahead, Sasuke hung back with Neji.

"Sasuke do you think?"

"No, he can't... it's not possible." Sasuke was right. Naruto's memories of his past life was lost to him. There was no way that he could remember any of it, only fragmented bits that would make no sense to him.

"So it was just a coincidence?"

"More or less." Still Sasuke thought there was more to all of this. Naruto was indeed hiding something. That much was clear when he began to panic over his words only moments ago. But the question still stood on what the blond was hiding.

"Man, you two walk slow. Ino is going to kill us if we make her wait too long." Naruto tried to hurry them along.

When the they finally entered their home and hung up there jackets, Ino rushed at them shaking an angry finger.

"What took you three so long. You have been gone for thirty minutes!" She complained trying to make herself look intimidated. It wasn't really working.

Seeing that she was going to get nowhere yelling at them, she changed tactics. Ino placed a well practiced pout on her lips.

"You should think of others you know. I was waiting for so long." Sasuke and Neji ignored her as they walked past into the livingroom.

Naruto on the other hand couldn't ignore Ino and that puppy pout of hers.

"Sorry Ino, but we got back as soon as we could."

"Yeah, yeah. Well get your butt in there so we can get this movie started." She patted him lightly on the butt causing him to squeak and move forward into the room with the others.

"What did you do to him? I didn't know he could make sounds like that." Sakura teased when Naruto came in. Taking the empty seat beside Sasuke.

'_I did.'_ Sasuke mentally said with a smirk.

"Come on, lets just get this movie on and done with. I swear you are all too troublesome." Shikamaru, who had been sitting on the floor besides Sakura's legs, looked around at Ino.

She just shook her head at the look she was given. "Fine, I will put the movie in."

The movie was yet another chick flick that the girls had picked up at the store this weekend when they had gone grocery shopping. It took them a few days to actual talk the guys into watching it.

Mostly they used blackmail. Sakura had caught Naruto looking at one of her magazines, the one counting down this years hottest guys. It was rather embarrassing since he couldn't tell Sakura that he was just looking to make sure that he wasn't attracted to all guys, just Sasuke. He was happy to report that Sasuke was the only guy he was attracted to.

But still the damage had been done and Sakura threatened to tell everybody unless he watched their movie.

Ino had threatened to sic Tenten on Sasuke and Shikamaru just found the whole thing to troublesome and gave in without a fight.

Hinata had been the one to originally want to see the movie so Ino and Sakura didn't need to use their influence there.

As for Neji, he just got sucked into it by Sasuke with a promise to see Naruto. He had to make a mental note to get back at him for this.

Ino bounded happily over to the TV putting in the DVD and navigating through the main menu.

Sappy music began to play as the movie opened. Already Naruto was feeling himself falling asleep. He would have much rather of watched a good action or horror film over this.

Even Sasuke seemed to be fighting to stay awake, although if one looked close enough they would see the hidden interest he held there. He had always been a fan of all genre of movies, but that doesn't mean that he is going to give in without a fight when asked to watch something he should be apposed to watching.

Sighing Naruto settled down and got comfortable next Sasuke. The Uchiha said nothing as he felt his shoulder being used as a pillow. It was a common occurrence when Naruto was watching something that bored him.

Soon he would be asleep and Sasuke would have to carry him upstairs like all the times before.

Naruto watched as the screen began to fade. He fought to keep his eyes open but he was losing the battle rather quickly.

Before he knew it he was in a deep sleep at Sasuke's side.

* * *

_Naruto felt terror in its purest form course through his body. This was the moment he had been dreading since he had said yes to Sasuke. _

_He knew that this day would come, even if he pretended that everything would be ok. He let himself believe Sasuke's words. He hoped for them to be true even though he knew that it would never be the happy end he had dreamt about. _

_This was it, his last few moments on this planet. He would pay for his crime with death, and sadly he would die alone. _

_Hadn't he told Sasuke that he didn't want to die? Hadn't Sasuke promised to protect him. Resentment towards the Uchiha welled up inside of him, but Naruto could not blame Sasuke for this. _

_It was just as much his fault as well. They had been blinded by their love for one another. It was a deathly mistake for Naruto. _

_He jumped when he heard the latch to his cell open. _

_It was time. _

_A big burly man walked in along with two of the town officials. _

"_Uzumaki Naruto, you have been convicted of associating with the devil, and have been sentenced to death." One of the officials said looking at him with disgust. "Do you still not wish to divulge the location of this demon?" _

_Naruto said nothing. He could not give Sasuke away, even if the man would not die or whatever it was that they did. _

"_So be it then. Take him to the stake." Naruto looked up at this. The stake? He had been under the impression that was a method no longer used. He was so sure he was going to go to the gallows. _

_The man gave him a smirk that promised pain. "The council agreed that you should suffer for your crime. A possibly quick death at the gallows didn't seem fair. So we all thought that a burning at the stake would be so much better." _

_Naruto felt his heart pounding in his chest. 'No' This could not be happening. _

_The biggest of the three men came forward and yanked at the chain that was wrapped around his neck. He could feel the metal digging into his raw flesh and the warm blood running down his neck. _

_He was pulled roughly behind the three men as they led him to his painful death. _

_Now, more than ever, he knew that he didn't want to die. Not now, not like this. It was never meant to be like this. _

_He fought back the tears. He would not cry now. _

_The stake loomed ominously in the distance. From the look of things most of the town had gathered around to watch his death. It was like some form of entertainment to them. Naruto felt his stomach turn at the thought. _

_It was sick how they could find enjoyment out of his death. May they all rot in hell, he thought bitterly. _

_It wasn't until he was being tied to the rotting wooden post that saw his parents. _

_His mother had tear stains down her checks. She must have been crying earlier, crying for him. He felt the guilt well up within himself at the pain he knew he had caused them. _

_His father though looked stern and focused a disgusted look at his son. Naruto couldn't say he was surprised. His father had always been one who prided in the fact that his family was the perfect example of how a family should be. They were all model citizens and they should be when he was the mayor of this town. _

_He had an image to uphold and Naruto had just ripped that pride from him. His father did not have that perfect family and it was all Naruto fault. _

_He had to fall in love with Sasuke. _

_His heart slammed against his chest as he watched the men pile the wood around him. It was all coming so fast now. The end was within touching distance. He could already feel the heat of the flames licking at his skin. _

_As the men with the torches came near everything seemed to slow down for Naruto. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart and the heavy foot steps of the men. _

_Sweat trickled down the side of his face as he watched the torches fall just below his feet, and just like that it all began to go up in flames. _

_Naruto felt the sickening heat. He felt it burn away at his skin. All he could do was scream. _

"_Sasuke!" He cried as the smell of burning flesh came to his nose. _

"_Sasuke please! Help me!" The pain was too much to bare, like nothing he could ever imagine. _

_He could feel the fire burn away at the flesh of his legs hitting bone and moving up to devour more. _

_Tears fell from his eyes as the villagers laughed. Mocking him and making fun of his pitiful attempts to call for his lover. _

"_Sasuke please, I don't want to die...Gah ahahah!" Naruto screamed. "Please...Sasuke" He was growing numb now, as the flames reached his waste. _

_Everything was fading in and out of consciousness. Sasuke was not coming, he knew that. He gave up all hope of seeing the boy he loved so much ever again. _

_With his last breath of life, Naruto whispered his last words to Sasuke. Hoping that some how they would reach him. _

"_I will always love you."_

* * *

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled in an attempt to wake the screaming blond.

By this time everyone had stood in worry watching as Naruto shook violently, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Please Naruto, wake up. It's only a dream." Naruto took a gasp of breath before opening his eyes wide in shock.

He looked around in a panic confused in where he was and what was happening.

All he heard was incoherent words and whispers. The hand on his shoulder began to rub him gently. Looking up he was met with Sasuke's concerned face.

Naruto felt the overwhelming relief wash over him as he looked into those dark eyes. He could still feel some of the terror and pain; his body still shook from it.

Before he realized what he was doing, Naruto launched himself on Sasuke, giving his a firm kiss on his lips before spreading light pecks along his jaw.

"Thank god." He cried out, the tears falling harder. "You came, you came for me."

Everyone in the room just stood and stared. No one knew what was going on. Even Sasuke was taken aback by the current events.

"Hush Naruto, I'm here." He rocked Naruto back and forth in his arms trying to sooth the crying boy.

"It hurt so much... the fire. I knew I was going to die. Oh god it hurt so much." Sasuke stopped his rocking. His whole body had gone numb in that instant.

"Naruto..." He choked out the name, not knowing what else to say.

"But its ok... you came back for me." Grief and guilt crashed over him with such a force it left him breathless.

Neji, who had been standing in a stunned silence, finally spoke.

"Naruto... what happened?"

Naruto nuzzled his face deeper into Sasuke's neck finding comfort there. It was weird, feeling this close to another boy, but it felt so natural. It was then that the warmth he felt within him so many times before while around Sasuke made sense. It was love. Suddenly everything seemed a little less crazy.

"Naruto please... tell me what happened." Neji asked again.

"They found out... condemned me to death... the flames hurt so much." the mumbled reply was broken with the occasional sniffs Naruto made as he tried to control his tears.

Neji looked up from Naruto to see what Sasuke's reaction to this would be. What he saw was not good. Sasuke himself seemed close to tears, either that or he looked like he wished for his own painful death.

Sakura shifted nervously from one foot to the other while Ino held Hinata in her arms. The poor girl was worried sick over Naruto. Shikamaru even looked concerned.

"Is he going to be ok?" Sakura spoke.

Neji nodded to her, easing everyone's worry.

"Come on Sasuke. We need to get him to Kakashi. He might be able to tell us what's going on." Sasuke lifted the still crying Naruto in his arms, doing what he was told. Right now he felt like a robot, his mind had no control over his body. It was too occupied with wallowing in his guilt.

"We'll be back." Neji guided Sasuke out the door, giving him reassuring pats on the shoulder from time to time.

"What ever it is your thinking right now Sasuke, remember that none of it was your fault. None of us expected something like that to happen. I wouldn't have been able to save him either."

They walked through the dark hallways of the main building, navigating up towards the highest level where the teachers rooms were.

Kakashi's was in a remote section of the east wing. Legend had it that it was haunted, past teachers had been scared out of their wits during the night. Most refused to go anywhere near that part of the building.

Yet oddly Kakashi was the only one who still remained. Nothing ever seemed to bother him in the dead of night. It was mighty suspicious if you thought about it.

Neji stopped in front of the door that sported a metal plaque that read 'Kakashi Hatake'. Raising his fist to the door, he gave three sharp knocks.

Silence reined in the hallways once again till movement could be heard beyond the door.

"Who is it?" Kakashi sounded slightly pissed not that any of them cared. This was an emergency, then again who went to bed this early anyways. It was only a little past ten, if even that.

"It's Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto." There was silence once again before the door was wrenched open.

"You three... what are you doing here?" He asked taking in the sight of his students. "And what's wrong with Naruto?" The blond made another sniff.

Kakashi eyed them for a moment. He knew right a way that something was not right.

"Come in..." He stepped to the side letting the three boys pass. Something told him he was not going to get to sleep tonight.

Neji walked into the room, taking in its' messy appearance. Deciding that there was nothing to be done about it, he took a seat on an available chair.

Sasuke and Naruto sat together on the couch.

"So what brings you here at this hour?"

"Naruto had a nightmare." Kakashi blinked at this. They had to be kidding him. Those three had not just woken him up for this.

"If that is the case then why bother me?" he asked looking irritated.

"He had a nightmare about the night he died." Neji elaborated.

Kakashi looked at him strangely for a moment.

"That can't be." His eyes wandered over to Naruto who was now sitting up whipping the tears from his eyes. "Your starting to remember?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked the man. "They are just dreams... or nightmares."

"So you are telling me you dreamt all of this?" Kakashi pressed.

"Yeah... although it all stopped after me and Sasuke got back for Iruka's... well until tonight." It was the truth after all.

"So when did it all start?" Everyone in the room was looking at Naruto now. Waiting for him to shed light on the matter.

"Well it started when..." He trailed off, a bright blush covering his cheeks.

"When?" Neji pushed.

Sasuke seemed to catch where this was going and answered for him.

"When I kissed you?" He received a nod of confirmation from Naruto.

"When it happened all these images came flashing through my mind... some were meaningless and some were rather disturbing at the time." he blushed again at the thought.

"What were they about?" Naruto looked up to Neji. He knew now that he could not hide the fact that these things were happening so he decided to tell everyone the truth.

He huffed, and pouted before answering.

"Well you were in one of them... except your hair was shorter. That's why I made that comment. Thinking about it now, we all looked different... well Me, you, and Sasuke that is. You three were the only ones I remember from the dream." Kakashi took a seat on his bed. He stared at Naruto intently. This was all highly amusing.

"Most of them though were of me and Sasuke." He blushed again. "And the majority of those I would rather not talk about." Neji smirked and looked at Sasuke who refused to meet anyone's eyes.

"This last one was the worst though... I really thought I was dying." No bothered to correct the blond. They didn't see it as a good moment to inform him that he did indeed die when that event actual took place.

"This is indeed interesting. Let me ask you this Naruto. Where was Sasuke tonight when you had this so called nightmare." Naruto thought about it for a moment before answering his teacher.

"I was sitting beside him... unless he moved."

"Did you Sasuke?" Sasuke shook his head. No, he had stayed by Naruto's side throughout the whole movie.

"And Naruto, where was Sasuke when you slept over at Iruka's?"

"Umm... On the floor next to the bed." Kakashi tapped his finger on his chin. There were so many assumptions he could make, but none of them would explain exactly what was going on. This was a very rare occurrence and one that shouldn't even be happening.

"If I had to make a guess, the only thing that would make even the least bit of sense, is that this all has something to do with contact between you two. Somehow that kiss stirred up some things between the two of you."

"Like what?" Sasuke didn't see how this explained anything.

"Look at it this way, identical twins have claimed to have a mental connection with the other due to the bond that they share. Now in yours and Naruto's case, you hold all the memories of your past life together, but Naruto still holds the residue of those memories locked away. Humans will often dream of their past lives but it is such a twisted mixture of reality and fantasy that they often loose the meaning behind them."

"So then you are saying that Sasuke is the cause of this?"

"Yes, the kiss is what triggered those fragments of memories in Naruto to come forth. Normally Naruto would not have enough information in those memories to tell him anything. Yet somehow Sasuke's memories were able to fill the gaps in for Naruto... My only guess is that it happened because of a mental bond that they share. Kinda like the twins I mentioned earlier."

It was a ridicules idea, but it was the only thing that made sense.

"So that explains why he only had them while I was close to him?"

"Yes."

Through all of this Naruto was looking more and more confused. What were they all talking about. He didn't have a mental bond with Sasuke. Did he? And those dreams, they were real? Then again that would explain why he had begun to fall in love with the boy. Especially if he loved him in his past life.

"So all that stuff in my dreams really happened? So that nightmare... I really died then... and Sasuke... you never came for me?" The pain and hurt was evident in Naruto voice, but it was nothing compared to grief in Sasuke's eyes.

"Naruto... I..."

"If you loved me... than why?" Naruto could feel his throat clench as he tried to hold back tears. Why was he feeling so betrayed when it was something that happened so long ago. It wasn't even really him that it happened to, or more like he really didn't remember much of it.

"Naruto, I think you should hear the whole story before you start judging people." Naruto turned to look at Kakashi. "Don't you think Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, seeing the hurt and confusion written plainly on his face.

"Yes, I do think its time that I told you our story... from the very beginning."

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Ok well there you have it. The next chapter will be nothing but a big flashback of everything that has happened._

_Sorry for the cliffy ((don't hurt me)) It had to be done... the next chapter will be up ASAP._

_Also I am going to be starting to use my LJ a lot more and will be posting small drabbles and oneshots daily ((When I can))... Plus I will have other tidbits of Naruto stuff... and some of my fanart... so if you want too go check it out... the link is in my Profile..._

_On that note is there anyone who knows how to make pretty layouts for LJ and can either teach me or make me one... I would love you forever!!!!_

_Anyways... till next time... love ya'll_

_-Akiru-_


	10. Past

_A/N - Hi everyone!!! Be shocked! I updated again... I am on a freakin' role... LOL..._

_But no seriously this chapter is for Malfhost who asked nicely for me to post it before New Years Eve... well it's New Years Eve now so I hope I am not to late to meet your request._

_Also I don't take kindly to being threatened to update. I am flattered that you like my fic that much, but you will get me to update faster if you ask nicely than if you threaten me... so please stop._

_Also Thank you everyone for the 10,000+ hits and the 150+ reviews... I love you all so much. You really make me love writing!_

_Un-beta'ed work so beware._

* * *

Chapter Nine: Past

* * *

"The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it."

-Wendell Berry-

* * *

_Sasuke stood amongst the blooming flowers that signaled the beginning of spring. The sky itself even seemed to be joining the festivities of the season. The clear blue spread vast distances free of clouds, letting the sun shine upon the earth. _

_It was a day that was the exact opposite of how Sasuke was currently feeling. A dark rainy day would have suited him much better at the moment. _

_He was originally supposed to be heading towards a small colony south of here. Rumor had it that his brother had been spotted there. It was the best lead he had in months. _

_He had the misfortune to receive a letter from his damnable halfling of a sister a week before his departure. _

_Normally he would have ignored it but was a formal summoning and he would be in more trouble than what it was worth if he did not come. _

_Knowing his sister it had something to do with dividing the power between the two families. _

_He was the rightful heir to the Uchiha's since she was a hybrid of sorts and no longer considered part of the Uchiha line. Yet she did share his blood and that alone gave her the right to fight for what was truly his. _

_The only thing she had on her side was her age. She had been born long before Sasuke or even Itachi. Still that alone would not win this for her. Sasuke would be sure that she did not gain the power and wealth the Uchiha's prided on. _

_Really though, Sasuke knew she only really wanted the right to be called an Uchiha again and to be excepted into the family that had cast her aside. _

'_Where the hell is Neji?' He had been waiting for his sisters son for over an hour now. Sometimes he wonder if everyone was incompetent as they showed him to be. _

_Finally he heard a rustle in the bushes. "About time." He muttered to himself, turning to face his guest. _

_What he saw made him stop and stare. _

_Before him stood a boy, around twelve if he had to make a guess since he looked a little younger than himself. He was currently fifteen. There eyes locked onto each other, blue meeting black. Sasuke found himself wonder what was bluer, the sky or this boys eyes. _

"_Sasuke!" Neji, who Sasuke had not realize was there, called out to his 'uncle'. _

_Sasuke finally pulled his gaze from the blond and turned to face the boy who addressed him. _

"_Neji." He greeted, being sure to show his displeasure for being here at all._

_The blond boy stood a few inches behind Neji, studying Sasuke with a curious gaze. _

"_So this is your friend? He looks kinda boring to me." Sasuke glared at this. Who did this brat think he was talking to. _

"_Well at least I'm not an idiot." _

"_Bastard! What did you call me?" _

"_An Idiot." It was odd how much enjoyment he was getting out of insulting the blond. Maybe it wasn't a complete waist coming here. He was sure getting some entertainment at least. _

"_Naruto calm down and Sasuke don't rattle him up." Neji had finally stepped between them when it looked as if neither was going to back down. _

_Sasuke just huffed and turned away. _

"_Anyways, Naruto this is Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto made no acknowledgment to the other boy. "Sasuke, this is Uzumaki Naruto." _

"_Hn." This was not going to be an easy week. Neji knew that much for sure_

* * *

_.Sasuke sat beneath one of the trees in town. He had just come from seeing his sister, and just like he had thought she was trying to talk him into handing over some of the Uchiha rights. _

_When would she ever give up? This had been going on for years now. Sasuke was growing tired of the same old argument that always ended with him yelling an angered 'no' before slamming the door on his way out. _

_It was Thursday and most of the villagers were about working or shopping. Every once in awhile someone would walk past Sasuke and politely nodded to him or tip their hat. Rumor had it that Sasuke was a young lord who was here visiting relatives. _

_Now this was true, but they were oblivious to the darker side of the young boy. That side though was something that they did not need to know. It would only cause trouble for himself and Neji. _

"_Hey Sasuke." Said boy looked up to seeing Naruto staring down at him. Since his arrival here Sasuke had found the other boy to be an annoyance, yet there was still something about him that intrigued the Uchiha. _

"_What are you doing out here alone?" Naruto asked. _

_Sasuke just looked at him for a moment. "Trying to get some peace." _

"_Oh well then... mind if I join you?" _

_Did he really just ask what he thought he asked. "That would defeat the whole purpose. I wouldn't get any peace with a loud mouth like you around."_

"_Bastard" Naruto huffed sitting down besides Sasuke none the less. _

"_Hn."_

"_I think we got off on the wrong foot so I am willing to start over and be friends." Now this was something new. Then again Naruto did seem to be the 'happy go lucky, make friends with everyone' type. _

"_And what makes you think I want to be friends with an idiot like you?" This was not going to be a pretty outcome. _

"_Well maybe if you took that stick out of your ass and tried to be a little more social you might like to have a new friend." _

"_Naruto!" Both Naruto and Sasuke stiffened at the stern tone. A man looked down upon them with a disapproving look. "How many times do I have to tell you to watch your mouth. Your behavior is the disgrace to our family." The man turned to look at Sasuke, his face became sickly apologetic. "Please sir forgive my son. He sometimes he does not think before he speaks." The last part was almost spat out. _

"_Sorry father. It won't happen again." Naruto turned to Sasuke then and bowed his head. "Please accept my apology Lord Uchiha. I was being rude." Naruto's father watched is son for a moment more before excusing himself, leaving the two young boys alone again. _

_The boy that he had seen seconds ago was not the Naruto he knew. It hurt to some extent to see the normal outgoing and loud boy turn so placid and meek. _

_It reminded Sasuke of the many times his own father had disciplined him for his so called bad behavior. _

"_You and your father don't get along do you?" Sasuke asked. _

"_And why would you care?" Was the shouted retort. _

"_I don't, but I know how you feel." It was true, Sasuke knew exactly how it felt to always feel like you were a disappointment to your family. Nothing he ever did was good enough for his father. Going through life after life and never getting his recognition. _

"_You know nothing of how I feel." Sasuke had no right to think he knew anything about Naruto, or so the boy thought. No one could know, Naruto tried so hard to hide the pain and hurt he felt when his father looked at him as something worthless. _

"_You would be surprised. I know exactly how it feels to be a disappointment to your parents. To never live up to the standards they have put in front of you." Normally Sasuke would never open up like this in front of someone but somehow he felt a connection with the blond. They were the same. Both suffered for the demands put on them by their fathers. _

_Naruto didn't know what to say to that. He would have never thought that perfect little Sasuke was in the same boat as him. Maybe Sasuke wasn't the bastard he thought he was, but he still had a stick up his ass. Naruto grinned at the last thought. _

"_So then, we friends?" Sasuke gripped the hand that was presented to him. _

"_With an idiot like you? I guess it might work out." They shook hands, confirming their new found friendship._

* * *

_Naruto sat bored in the middle of Sunday Mass. Like always the whole town had arrived to listen to the sermon. The priest always had a monotone voice that was affective in putting Naruto to sleep in minutes. _

_He was currently going on about some guy who had given into evil, but the lord forgave him and lead him back to the light, or something like that. He couldn't be sure since he wasn't really listening. Instead he found the back of Sasuke's head to be much more interesting. _

_The raven haired boy sat a few pews up with Neji's family. Naruto couldn't help to notice just how silken Sasuke's hair looked in the light from the simple stained glassed windows. _

_For a moment he wished that he could run his hands through it, and see if it really felt like silk. _

"_Naruto dear, pay attention." His mother had noticed his dropping interest in the holy teachings and brought his mind back to the priest. _

_Naruto tried to listen again to the drone of the old man, but his thoughts wondered again. This time he wondered what he would do when he was released from this place. Hopefully his father would not need him. Maybe he could go hang out with Sasuke. _

_They had become very close friends and spent most of their time together. It had already been two weeks since Sasuke's arrival and Naruto didn't know if he could deal without Sasuke there. Neji was a good friend and all, but Naruto felt so much closer to Sasuke. Like he could tell him anything and he would understand. _

_They both had so much in common, even if Sasuke was still a bastard. Naruto mentally laughed. Oh how he loved to get under his skin an rile him up. _

_Finally after what seemed like forever the priest gave his closing words and dismissed them. _

"_Naruto where are you going?" His father called as he tried to make a quick escape. _

"_I'm going to go find Sasuke, we had plans." His father waved him off, preferring to chat with some of the townspeople. They were the ones who voted for him as mayor. It was his job to listen to them and act like he cared. _

_Sasuke exited from the small church and made his way from the crowd that was gathering in the small church yard. He hated crowds, they were always so noisy and pushy. _

"_Hey Sasuke, wait for me." He turned around to see Naruto running up to him. Sasuke couldn't help the small smile that made itself at home on his lips. _

_He had become fond of the boy. Naruto knew just what to do to make him smile, to glare, and to laugh. It was like he knew him inside and out. _

_Sasuke had not been this happy with someone in along time. Being with Naruto was like having the childhood he never was allowed. He could be carefree and forget about his problems and responsibilities, and that was what he did. _

_He forgot about his revenge in favor of seeing the blond smile that bright smile of his. _

_This feeling inside of him was not natural. Sasuke had never felt this drawn to someone in his life. At first he had hated it, more than anything. He began to avoid the blond for a few days, but when he saw the hurt look on Naruto's face he broke and gave in. _

_So now he found himself always accompanying the boy some place or another. Today they had decided to take a walk in the woods. Naruto had been bugging him to take him, so Sasuke decided that today was as good a day as any. _

"_I really love the forest you know. It always so peaceful." Sasuke had to agree, it was one of the few places where he could sit and think. _

_Naruto ran up ahead jumping up on a fallen log that was now rotting on the ground. He spun around, give Sasuke a smile. _

"_Get down before you hurt yourself." Sasuke scolded, even though he could not help but notice just how beautiful Naruto looked standing up there with the sunlight shining on him. He looked like an angel. _

"_Oh, are you worried about me?" Naruto teased, spinning again. _

"_Well someone has to worry about you." They both looked at each other, small grins on both of their faces. _

"_Well then I am glad that it's you." Naruto walked along the moss covered bark not watching his step. His eyes were too focused on Sasuke's to take heed to anything else. _

"_Naruto, just get down befo–" He watched as Naruto yelped. He had stepped on a rotten part of the tree and was now falling to the hard ground before him. _

"_Shit." Sasuke ran, hoping that he could catch him in time. He felt his body come into contact with another. With a groan both boys fell to the floor; Naruto on top of Sasuke. _

"_Ow, that was a bad idea." Naruto rubbed his head. _

"_I told you so." Sasuke pushed up on Naruto, making him sit in his lap. "Next time use that brain of yours. I know you have one." _

_Naruto swatted his shoulder playfully and pouted. _

"_Aww... don't make that face." Strong hands wrapped around Naruto's waist keeping him in place. Sasuke didn't want to let him go, he did not want to loose someone else he cared for, not like he had his family. _

_A tanned hand reached out to stroke a pale cheek. Naruto wasn't sure what he was doing, only that he had wanted to do it for sometime now. His hands caressed the soft cheek before moving it to play with Sasuke's hair._

"_It does feel like silk." Mumbled words left Naruto's mouth. He was talking more to himself than to Sasuke. _

"_Naruto..." Sasuke leaned in, not caring about what the consequences of what he was about to do might be. _

_Naruto's eyes widened as his first kiss was stolen, but he couldn't find himself caring. This was Sasuke who was kissing him. If he thought about it, he wouldn't want anyone but Sasuke taking it from him. _

_The kiss was simple, just the touch of each others lips. It was over before either boy new it, leaving both rather confused. _

_Naruto was blushing not knowing what to do with himself now. Both of his hands were still in Sasuke hair, stoking and patting. _

"_Are you mad?" Naruto shook his head. No he wasn't mad, he was happy, but still what had just happened was wrong. If so then why did it feel so right?_

"_Can... Can I kiss you again?" _

_Naruto smiled and dipped his head down to capture those lips in another kiss. No this was not wrong, nothing this good could be wrong._

* * *

_Teeth clashed and tongues warred, as the kiss become more fierce. Naruto and Sasuke were currently making out in the Uzumaki barn. They were laying in the hay loft, away from prying eyes. _

"_Sasuke..." Naruto felt so hot, but hell he felt good. It had been a few weeks since the incident in the woods and things had been going great for him. Sasuke was everything he had ever wanted and more. Things were perfect. _

_Sasuke's hands roamed the body that was laid out before him. It was a beautiful sight seeing the boy flushed and needy. He almost looked good enough to eat, and Sasuke planned on doing just that if Naruto was willing. _

_Light kisses were placed along Naruto's jaw, making their way to his ear. He shuddered when a wet tongue came out to lick at his earlobe. _

"_Do you like that?" Hot breath washed over wet flesh, making Naruto's answer a little shaken. _

"_Gods, yes Sasuke... don't stop." _

_Smirking, he made his way to the base of his neck. He sucked and kissed at the spot where he knew the blood was flowing freely through the blondes veins. Yes he needed to taste him, to savor the blood that would be so sweet. _

_His lips curled, revealing his sharp fangs. Slowly he dragged them over the spot causing Naruto to still. _

"_Sasuke?" Naruto knew what Sasuke was and he had an idea about what he wanted now, more so than the pleasure they had given each other in the past._

"_Please Naruto... let me taste you." Naruto saw the pleading look in his eyes and couldn't say no. _

_Taking a shuddering breath he nodded his head, giving the vampire permission to feed. He knew that it would hurt but he trusted Sasuke. _

_Sasuke leaned back down, slowly pushing his fangs into the soft flesh of Naruto's throat. He felt the warm blood begin to pool in his mouth. Eagerly he swallowed it, loving the taste. It was just as he imagined, the best blood he had ever had. _

_Naruto's mouth hung open in a silent scream. It hurt so much, but at the same time it felt oddly pleasing. He was the one giving Sasuke his life nurturing food and not some unlucky fool. _

_The pain soon numbed leaving him with only the feeling of Sasuke's hungry sucking. _

"_Sasuke?" The boy lifted his head, his mouth dripping in blood. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Don't drink all of it, I still need it too." Sasuke smiled, moving up to kiss Naruto full on the mouth. When he pulled away Naruto made a disgusted face. _

"_Next time was your mouth out before. I don't know about you but I am not found of the taste of blood." He began flicking his tongue out of his mouth trying to get rid of the taste. _

_He momentarily wondered if he could ever get used to this. _

_Yeah, he could._

* * *

"_Dammit Naruto! Did he do this to you?" Neji had Naruto's back against the wall, his eyes flaring in anger. "Tell me, did Sasuke bite you?" _

_Naruto could not look at his friend. He didn't think Neji would react this badly if he found out. He really didn't see the problem. If Sasuke feed off him, then it kept him from have to feed in the neighboring villages. _

"_Yes, but its no big deal." _

"_No big deal? Oh, this is a very big deal." Neji looked like he was about to murder someone, and Sasuke had a very high chance of being that one person. "Can you even imagine what would happen to you if someone found out? I mean what even possessed either of you to even think of doing this?" _

"_No one will find out. I will just hide it like I did the hickies." He tried to explain, not really think about what he was really saying. _

"_Hickies? Oh dear god please tell me you are kidding." Naruto blushed unintentionally answering his question. _

"_How long?" _

"_Two months..." He whispered, afraid of what Neji was going to do. _

"_Two... Damn Naruto... this is so bad... you two need to stop. You're as good as dead if anyone finds out. They will hang you for sure. Think of your family." Naruto had never thought of this possibility. He knew he could hide the bites, he had been doing so for days. The only reason Neji noticed them was because he had smelt the blood. _

"_But..."_

"_No buts Naruto. Just think about it." Neji left him then. Leaving him to think things over and make a decision._

* * *

_Naruto glared at Sasuke who stood in front of him._

"_Please Naruto, we can make this work." The boy pleaded. _

"_Sasuke you know we can't. Do you even know the risk we would be taking. If anyone found out I would be hung, my father would be pulled from his position, and my families name would be cursed." Sasuke shook his head, not wanting to believe Naruto's words. _

"_I can promise you that we won't get caught. Besides how is this any different from you hanging around Neji?" He bit out, causing Naruto to flinch. _

"_Neji is only a friend, plus he is not feeding off of me like you have. If someone see's those markings than I am done for, and hell if they find out I am being bedded by a messenger of the devil." It was Sasuke's turn to flinch at Naruto's words. He was no messenger of any devil. _

"_Don't start your fucking shit with me. You know right well I am no demon."_

"_Yes Sasuke, I know you are not a demon, but they don't. If they found out, I would be dead, and I don't want to die." I tear leaked from the corner of a bright blue eye. _

_Sasuke stepped closer, whipping the tear away. He couldn't stand seeing Naruto cry. _

"_I promise no one will find out. I love you, remember that. I won't ever let any harm come to you. That is the vow I make to you." _

_He felt Naruto nodded as he enveloped him in a warm embrace. Holding him as he cried. _

_He tried to listen to Neji's words but he just couldn't give Sasuke up. They would be fine, no one would find out. _

_Unbeknownst to them, Neji stood outside the barn listening to the whole conversation. He prayed that everything would turn out ok for the two in the end._

* * *

"_Sasuke." Naruto called out into the night air. A sensual sound in the dense darkness. _

_Their two bodies drenched in sweat preformed a forbidden dance in the tangled web of wild flowers that they used for a bed. _

_Sasuke buried his face into the younger boy's neck taking in the musky scent. It was a smell unique only to Naruto. A scent that he loved so much. _

"_N – Naruto... I can't... I need..." Naruto smiled, he always loved to hear is name spilling from the ravens lips with such passion and need. They had only been together for a few months, but despite that he knew from the bottom of his heart he would never want another like he had Sasuke. _

_Tan hands ghosted over pale flesh, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. Each soft touch scorched Sasuke's already burning skin. It was torture to feel those hands everywhere but where he needed them most. He wanted to take Naruto then and there, they had enough fore play for one night. _

_Seeing the silent plea in Sasuke's eyes Naruto removed his fingers from Sasuke's back. Immediately the Uchiha missed the touch, but what came next made up for the lack of contact. _

_Naruto brought those same fingers to his own mouth, dragging them in and out. His deep blue eyes stayed focused on Sasuke's. He found it rather humorous how his lover stared at those digits as he thoroughly coated them with saliva. _

_He was teasing him now, Sasuke was sure of it. The way he sucked on his fingers as if he was fucking his mouth. God, would he love to replace those fingers with his throbbing cock. _

"_Naruto..." Hearing the irritation in Sasuke's voice he knew that he had drawn out his teasing long enough. Naruto removed them, albeit slowly, and brought them down between their two heated bodies. He stopped then, letting his fingers hover over his puckered whole. _

_Naruto took once glance at Sasuke, seeing that he was staring intently at his stilled fingers. He mentally giggled to himself. It was so easy to gain Sasuke's complete attention if you knew how to go about it properly. _

_Sasuke watched as Naruto's slim index finger slid into himself, preparing him for what was to come. It was an erotic sight to watch Naruto's face twist into a tangled mix of pleasure and pain. What made it even more arousing was that Naruto was doing this to himself. _

_Another finger entered just then, stretching the blond even more. The two digits moved in and out, scissoring the tightened skin as they went. _

"_Ah... Sasuke..." He hit his prostate just then, send a wave of pleasure that left him panting and gasping for more. It was at this point that he could not wait any longer, he needed Sasuke now. He needed him to dive deep within him and filling him completely. _

_Sasuke complied without even having to ask. The moment Naruto's fingers were removed Sasuke was there to take their place._

_He wasted no time in entering his lover, filling him to the brim in one quick thrust. _

_Naruto let a moan escape his mouth. This was what he had been waiting for. It was the reason he had snuck out so late. He loved the feeling of being one and the same with the boy he loved more than anything else._

"_Oh god... fuck... Sa– Sasuke..." It was incoherent babble that came from the blondes mouth after that. Pleas to go faster and hard, words of endearment, and dirty words meant to egg Sasuke on, was all that could be heard. _

_Sasuke pounded into his lover hard at Naruto's request. He was so tight, like always. No matter how many times they had sex, Naruto was always tight and Sasuke wouldn't have it any other way. _

"_You feel... so good..." Sasuke all but moaned out in the night sky._

_The two bodies glided over each other, hot breaths fanning over their cheeks. Skin slapping skin could be heard amongst the sweet nothings and moans being uttered. _

_Everything was coming to its peak. The end of another night spent in the throws of passion. Sasuke could feel the pressure building in his lower stomach. It would not be long before he came. _

_It was Naruto though who came first. The feel of Sasuke inside him and the ravens hand gliding over his cock, had his screaming in ecstasy as his hot essence spilled from him. _

"_Naruto!" Sasuke was soon to follow, screaming his lovers name into the night for only the harvest moon to hear. _

_They both laid there for a moment basking in the afterglow that only sex could bring. _

"_That was great." Naruto mumbled, lightly massaging his hip. Sasuke had decided to start biting Naruto in more 'interesting' places in hopes that it would be harder for people to notice them. _

_Sasuke complained though on how hard it was to get a good serving of blood in those weird places. It often hurt Naruto more too, but he didn't mind if it was for Sasuke. _

"_Come on, you better get going. Your parent will be up soon." They both got dressed in silence before kissing each other as they left._

* * *

_It was the next day and Naruto was about to head out when his father came to him looking angry. It was scary. Naruto had never seen him so upset. _

"_Boy! Come here." Yes something was really wrong, his father always addressed him by his name. _

_He made his way over to his father. The man studied him for a moment. His stern eyes took in his son, or could he even call him that if 'he' was telling the truth. _

_Suddenly Naruto found himself being pushed against the wall, his clothes being savagely torn from his body. _

_His mind raced, trying to make some sense of what was going on. What was his father doing. _

_When he finally stood bare, his father back off. The look of disgust was etched into his face. _

_Naruto followed his fathers gaze and felt panic wash over him. The bloodied wound that Sasuke had left on him was in plain sight. _

_His father soon began searching his body, looking at all the old scars for the many times in which Sasuke had bit him. _

"_You fucking, monster!" Naruto felt tears sting his eyes as his fathers heavy hand landed on a tanned cheek. The slapped echoed through the empty home. _

_Not knowing what else to do he ran, but not before gathering up his clothes. He ran out to the barn, sinking to the ground to cry out the tears that he could not hold in. _

_This was it. It was finally happening. Soon everyone would know and they would come for him. He would have a trial and then be put to death. _

_They would hang him in front of everyone, and they would remember him as the demon boy who sold his soul to the devil. _

_His dog, Kyuubi, came to lay next to him giving him some comfort. _

_Knowing what he had to do next, Naruto got up and ran to where he was to meet Sasuke. This would probably be the last time that they would ever be able to be together. _

_Sasuke felt his heart clench when he laid eyes on his lover. Naruto was a complete mess. _

"_What happened?" He asked as he went to comfort him. _

"_My dad... he knows." Those words were enough to bring him to his knees. _

"_No..." It couldn't be. This was not happening. How could it even happen? They had been so careful. _

"_They will be looking for me soon. My father won't treat me any different from anyone else. He will put me to death." Naruto cried out. _

"_Then I will take you away." Sasuke's mind was racing with ways that he could save Naruto. _

"_No I can't... if I leave, than the blame will go to my family. Plus it won't take them long to put two and two together. If you disappear along with me then they will know. We would be putting both mine and Neji's family in danger. After all they are the ones who have been watching you." _

_Sasuke could not argue with that, not matter how much he wished he could just say screw them and take the blond away. _

"_What... What if I turn you into one of my kind?" Naruto pushed Sasuke away from him. _

"_No... I don't want that. I never want to go through life always losing the people I love and having to remember all horrific events of my past. I... I just can't." _

"_So you leave me hear to remember them. At least this way I know that I will be able to find you again." Sasuke was desperate. He knew that he would not be able to live without Naruto._

"_I promised to keep you safe... I am not going to let you die and forget me." _

"_Well its too late for that, Sasuke. I don't blame you for it, but I will die and there is nothing that you can do. I will not have other people suffer for my sins, I will die." Naruto focused a serious look on Sasuke. "And you will let me die. No matter what happens... Promise me... not matter what they do to me, or what I say. You will let me die like I am meant to. Promise me that Sasuke." Naruto was begging Sasuke for something he couldn't grant. He could not stand by and watch the one person he loved die. _

"_Sasuke if you love me you will let me die." It stung, Sasuke could not believe that Naruto would go that low. "Promise me." _

_Sasuke numbly nodded not able to do much else. _

_Happy with Sasuke's promise, Naruto molded his lips with his lovers. This would be their last kiss. The last time they would be in each others arms. It hurt so much to think about things like that, but Naruto could only smile now at all the good times they had, had together. Somehow it almost seemed worth it. _

_Pulling away Naruto looked into those deep onyx eyes that he loved so much. _

"_I love you." _

"_I love you too... but I swear to you I will find you again, and when I do I will be sure to turn you so that I will never have to loose you. I will know that you will always be out there looking for me while I look for you." Sasuke proclaimed. _

"_You will never... Listen to me Sasuke, I don't want that life. Do not turn me into something that I will end up hating." Sasuke said nothing as Naruto pulled away from him. It was time, if he waited any longer than he might not be able to leave. The last thing he needed was to give into Sasuke's pleas. _

"_I guess this is good-bye then." Without another word Naruto left Sasuke, and walked on towards his death. _

_Sasuke sat there not knowing what to think or what to do. He hated himself, more than ever. He was about to loose someone else. He couldn't keep his parents safe all those years ago and now he couldn't keep Naruto safe. _

_He had betrayed Naruto. He had betrayed his trust and his love, and now because of it Naruto would die. _

_It was then that Sasuke silently cried for the first time since his parents died._

* * *

_The screams broke his heart, but he stayed where he was. He had made a promise to Naruto and he would be sure to keep this one. _

_Silently he walked away from the town. He need to get away. He couldn't stand to hear Naruto's pain filled calls anymore. _

"_Sasuke!" He flinched as he heard the desperation within his name. His eyes began to sting with unshed tears. He had to be strong, Naruto would of wanted it that way. _

_He wouldn't want to be the one to cause someone to cry. _

"_You damn idiot... If you don't want me to cry than don't do stupid things." At this point Sasuke was in a daze. Not knowing where he was going, only having one goal in mind. _

_Finding a quiet place in the woods he sat down, an empty smile on his face. _

_The pain within his heart was gone now, leaving him feeling numb and lifeless. His life was pretty much over now without Naruto around. _

_He reached his hand to his pocket to pull out the small knife that he often kept on him. It was sad to think that it would be stained with blood when it had never been used before. _

_Sighing in content, he let the cold metal meet with wrist pushing it into the vein that rested there. _

_The blood began to flow from the wound immediately, covering Sasuke's wrist and hand. _

_When he was happy with his job, Sasuke dropped his knife and sat back and waited. He welcomed the cold feeling that soon engulfed him as his blood left his body. Soon it would end. All the pain would be gone, and the memories would lay hidden for awhile. Giving him the calmness he needed. _

_As he sat there dying he could only think of Naruto and the hope that they may meet again someday. _

"_This time... I won't loose you..." He choked out as the world began to fade, leaving him in darkness. _

"_I will always love you."_

* * *

Naruto cried as Sasuke finished the story he had no clue that they had gone through something like that together. It was a little over whelming to think about, not to mention a little cliche too.

"So now you know the truth." Sasuke looked Naruto in the eye trying to decipher what he could be thinking.

"It must have been hard for you... with me not remembering..." Naruto whispered. "I don't think I could have stayed by me like you have."

"Well...I'd rather feel the pain of being with you and not having you remember me, than not having you with me at all." Naruto felt the small smile tug at his lips at his words.

"Well I am sorry to be rude, but now that you are done... umm... it would be really nice if I could get some sleep, we all have class tomorrow and I will not go easy on you if you fall a sleep during my lecture." Kakashi was looking bored and a little put off. Sasuke hadn't mention him in the story at all. Then again he had been the current judge that had sentenced Naruto to death. Sasuke had still yet to forget that little detail.

He forgave him yes, after all he was the one who told Kakashi not to go against the decision the jury made.

"Yeah, Kakashi is right we better get going." Neji got up and went to the door.

Sasuke helped Naruto up and the three boys left the tired teacher to get some much needed sleep.

They parted ways with Neji in the court yard and headed towards their dorm that looked cold and lonely without any signs of life.

"Everyone must be asleep by now." Naruto stated when the reached the door.

"Yeah, they will probably be pounding you for questions in the morning." The key was put into the door before it opened. Sasuke let Naruto go in first. They put their jackets up and headed for their bedrooms.

"So... we were really...lovers?" Naruto finally asked. He stood in front of his door, looking intently at Sasuke.

"Yes, we were." Sasuke placed a small kiss on Naruto's cheek. "Goodnight Naruto."

Naruto watched at he disappeared into his room leaving him in the hall alone.

His hand went up to touch the spot that still tingled on his cheek. He could feel the blush that he knew was there. Yet he was happy. Everything just seemed so right, like it was all meant to be.

Turning around, he too entered his room looking forward to a good nights sleep.

* * *

To be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Well I am rather disappointed with this chapter... Its just not as dramatic as I hoped... kinda dull... I might end up rewriting it later... who knows... I will tell ya'll if I do._

_Also Sasuke's family tree seems really messed up to me... LOL... but it was the only way to make it work._

_Oh and Sorry for all the time skips... I didn't want to make this into a whole other fic since it would be very long if I went through everything... so instead I just went through the major parts of their relationship... I hope its not to cheesy and that they are not too OOC even though I know they are... _

_Also I am taking one shot and drabble requests... So far I have written a SasuSaku and a NaruHina drabble that you can find on my LJ... want me to write about a pairing for you??? Just ask am I will... you can even give me a plot... LOL... I am just in need of small stuff to write so I don't get burned out on writing the same thing all the time._

_Thanks._

_Well Hope you all have a great New Years!_

_-Akiru-_


	11. Touches

_A/N - I really did plan to get this up sooner but things came up and life happened. It sucks... but what can you do._

_Classes started for me today, so depending on how demanding they are, will dictate how often I update. College can be a pain... but sadly that comes before this fic._

_But all in all, I hope to get this finished by next month... yep, we are hitting the end... four or five chapters left... five I think, including the epilogue._

_Well thanks to you all who have reviewed. I love hearing from everyone of you. I will also try to reply to them ASAP... but I am going to do that in the morning... also if you are not signed in and want me to email you a reply, be sure to put your email in your review so I can get back to you._

_And those of you on AFF, just put your email in if you want me to reply._

_Well enjoy._

* * *

Chapter Ten: Touches

* * *

"Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other."

-Rainer Maria Rilke-

* * *

"Naruto! Get your ass out of bed now." Sakura pounded hard on Naruto's door, hoping that he would wake from the noise alone. Classes were starting in the next thirty minutes and he had yet to get out of bed. At first she had worried that he still wasn't feeling well, but Sasuke reassured her that he was perfectly healthy and well.

Naruto bolted up in his bed, the ruckus at the door scaring him just about as much as the dream he had been having a few minutes ago.

"I'm up!" He called from his bed. The back of his neck was sore and stiff from sleeping on it wrong. He rubbed it while he thought back to those blood red eyes that had invaded his sleep last night. He had not seen those eyes since that fate full night, his last night being human.

He still held a grudge against those eyes and their owner. He would always hate them, they ruined the life he had, even if they gave him a new chance at life as well. He had Sasuke now, even though he was still unsure what all the raven haired boy meant to him.

Naruto did love him, but it was odd. He had pretty much just woken up on day with the feeling. It wasn't something that grew over time like love usually did. Instead it just suddenly sprouted within him drawing him to this boy who he still knew so little about. It was awkward to be in the boys presence and feel the warmth in his chest that the Uchiha caused.

Naruto wasn't gay, he was sure of that, but that didn't even stop the feelings. His body and subconscious said one thing while his mind said another. The whole thing confused him. He probably should sit down with Sasuke and talk to him about it. Right now he seemed like the only one Naruto could go to.

Yawning he twisted his head around, getting a good look at the clock. "Crap." He groaned. "Well, I'm gonna be late." Slowly he made his way out of bed. There was no need to rush, he was going to be late one way or another.

He began to look about his room seeing a clean shirt hanging from his closet's door handle. He would just get dressed and head down stairs. A shower wasn't a main priority at the moment since he looked and smelt clean. He would just take one when he got back.

His eyes traced along the discarded clothes on his floor trying to locate a clean pair of pants. '_I should probably clean up a bit before it gets too bad._' He thought to himself.

After tossing things around for a good five or so minutes he found a pair under his bed. Giving them a quick sniff he deemed them clean enough to wear. At least they didn't stink.

The clock on his bedside table flashed the time, showing that class would have started by now. Naruto had Pre-Calculus with Asuma in the mornings. It was dull and boring listening to the man drone on about stuff he swore would never come in handy. Where the hell would you us Calculus? Naruto was sure he wasn't going to become a rocket scientist so why the hell did he need it?

Good news was that if he managed his time correctly he could completely skip the lecture and be there to pick up his home work right as the bell rang. There was only one downside to this, and her name was Sakura. Naruto could just see her face as he walked in late. She was like another mother to him, always getting on him for things he did wrong.

He hated to imagine what she would do to him if he skipped the majority of class. More than likely he would not be able to walk for a week if everything went ok.

Grabbing his bag by the door, he made his way downstairs. He took them two at a time, he had a reason not to be too late now.

The house was silent, completely desolate. That did seem to be the case till the sound of metal hitting metal drifted up from the kitchen.

Naruto stopped at the foot of the stairs. He was so sure everyone had left. It could quite possibly be Shikamaru. The lazy genius was know for skipping school; he found it too troublesome. Still it didn't make sense as to why he was up and about. On the days he skipped, Shikamaru could be found in his bed or by a window gazing at the clouds, but never in the kitchen.

Tip-toeing through the livingroom, Naruto made his way towards the kitchen. He was eager to see who had dare skipped classes today.

He was about to make his silent entrance when he tripped on a protruding piece of tile and fell forward, catching himself on the corner of a counter.

His stealthy entrance was ruined as the kitchen's occupant turned around.

"Its about time you got up. I was even about to drag your ass down too." Naruto looked up into Sasuke's amused face. He was too shocked to see Sasuke of all people missing classes to even take in the other's words.

Sasuke was currently leaning against the opposite counter spreading cream cheese on a bagel. He looked at Naruto with a smug smirk.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here." Was his friends... past lovers... what was Sasuke to him exactly? Naruto's mind drifted off to contemplate this. All the while Sasuke just watched him, highly amused with the whole ordeal.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, or are you going to eat?" Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke pointing to the table. His blue eyes turned and saw the plate of toast and eggs waiting for him, complete with a glass of cold milk.

Naruto felt the smile cross his face. "Thanks bastard."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but Naruto caught the small smile that appeared on his face before it vanished.

The sound of a knife dropping into the sink echoed in the small kitchen. It seemed that Sasuke had finally finished topping off his bagel. He then came to sit in the empty chair next to Naruto.

They both sat in silence. This was the first time they had been alone together since last night when everything finally came out into the open. To Naruto it still seemed like a dream, or maybe even a joke.

The silence was not entirely awkward, but Naruto felt uneasy in it. It was like watching a horror film in the dark and just waiting for the monster to pop out from behind the couch and grab you.

As the seconds of silence began to creep onto minutes, Naruto thought that this was as good of time as any to ask a question. He needed to hear again that last night had not been another dream. It had to be real and Sasuke had to have been telling the truth, but still he needed to hear it from the other boys mouth one more time.

"Sasuke?" He looked up from his bagel, swallowing the bite he had just taken.

"Hn?"

Naruto shifted in his seat. He had no clue how to word his question without him sounding accusing. The last thing he needed was Sasuke thinking that he didn't trust him. He trusted Sasuke and believed his story but still he needed the last bit of doubt killed.

"Last night... did all that really happen? It wasn't a dream was it?" Naruto looked up into deep, dark eyes. "Did you really love me... and I loved you?" His eyes dropped down to his now empty plate. It was hard looking at Sasuke with the intensity of emotions that flashed through his eyes.

"Hn...moron. Did you really think all that was a dream?" Sasuke put his bagel down and smiled a small smile. "It was real, all of it. I do love you more than anything, and I always will. I made you a vow, and I do not intend to break it. As for you, yes... you once said you loved me. Now though I do not know. Do you still love me Naruto?"

Naruto didn't know what to do, let alone say. He did not expect a love confession. A simple yes or no would have done fine.

He could feel the stare of Sasuke's eyes as he waited for an answer. Did Naruto love Sasuke? Yes he did, but as of right now he just could not bring himself to say so.

It felt as if he would be betraying who he was. He should not be in love with a man, he was not gay. That though did not stop the feeling from coursing within him.

He needed Sasuke, needed to feel his touch on his skin. He wanted to hears his name called out with all the passion it held in his dreams.

Despite all that he did not want to be come _that boy_. He remembered it so clearly. There had been a boy in his year, his name now forgotten, that always seemed a little odd.

He never looked at the girls with lust filled eyes instead turning his gaze to the boy who walked with them. Guys gossiped about how they caught him watching them undress as they got ready for gym.

Not long after the rumors grew, and suddenly the cruelty of the students were known. The insults flew through halls as the boy walked through them. 'Fag' and 'homo freak' could be heard resounding off the walls.

Naruto recalled Kiba scoffing at the other students, saying that they should just lay off the poor kid. He agreed, but did not say anything. Never would he ever wish to be in the boys place.

He remembered seeing him walking down the hall once, bruised and battered. It was obvious that he had been ganged up upon. That was the last time he ever remembered seeing him. A week after he had been sent here.

Still that memory flowed through his mind, causing him pain to think that he too was just the same. Yet, he was able to escape the brutality. He couldn't live like that, with people scorning him for what he was, and for what his preference might be.

He promised himself that he would never turn out like that boy, and he knew that he would never have to worry. Naruto was straight, but not as straight as he had always believed.

Sasuke watched Naruto. He knew that he should not expect an answer to such a question this soon. He just wanted so much to hear those words pool from his lips once again.

Sensing that he was only going to get silence as a reply, he stood up.

"Come on, we better hurry or we are going to miss first period all together." Naruto was truly grateful that Sasuke had let the question drop.

When Naruto was ready he would be sure to give him a firm and serious answer. Till then he would brood over this matter, hoping that the answer would come in time.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke walked down the empty halls. They had exactly fifteen minutes before first period ended. In Naruto's opinion that was more than enough time. He would get there just in time to get his assignment for tonight, just like he planned.

Sasuke though wasn't so thrilled. He was missing his government class, it was hell trying to catch up in it. If everything went well, he would be able to get notes from one of his many admirers. Still it would be troublesome in the end.

They were just rounding the corner when Naruto stopped. His face contorted into a frown, making Sasuke curious to see what was hidden just around the bend.

Taking his place beside Naruto, Sasuke's eyes landed on a boy who was sending an icy glare their way.

His emerald eyes were filled with disgust, but he soon turned away finding the wall in front of him to be more interesting.

Naruto found the boy to be odd, with his flaming hair and was that a tattoo on his forehead? It looked like it was some Japanese or Chinese character, but he couldn't say for sure.

The tension in the air seemed to grow, as Sasuke move to grab Naruto's hand. He knew this boy, every Leben knew this boy. They knew, feared, and pitied him.

Quickly Naruto was guided away, around another corner, trying to get free from the boys piercing aura.

"Who was that?" Naruto whispered. He had sensed Sasuke uneasiness when they had been around the boy.

Sasuke did not answer at first, his mind was else where. From what he knew, that boy should not be wandering the halls alone. Last time he heard, he was being detained.

"His name is Gaara." The name was spat, like it tasted foul.

"Is he one of us?"

"No, he is a halfling. A wretch born from a Leben father and a human mother." Sasuke's eyes flashed distaste and loathing. He still remembered his first run in with the boy.

"Yeah so? Isn't Neji and Hinata the same?" Sasuke shook his head.

"No, they may carry human blood through their veins, but they are not the same as Gaara. He is cursed with a fate so much crueler than our own." Sasuke explained, stopping a few doors from Naruto's class. "For us we only need blood to keep our bodies mobile and awake, more or less. We still have to eat since out bodies still need the nutrients to grow and function properly. Gaara though is a special case. Sometimes human and Leben blood don't mix very well and mutations occur."

"Mutations?"

Sasuke nodded. "Gaara's body can only consume blood, without it he will go mad and eventually die... to him normal food is like poison. I really don't know how his body functions in a state like that but..." He trailed off looking down at the floor. "He has an insatiable thirst for blood. I know awhile back he got in trouble for draining a few humans almost to the point of death. Usually they keep a pretty close eye on him."

Naruto didn't know what to say regarding this. He really couldn't settle on what to feel either. Should he pity the boy, or fear him.

"That's ... How can someone live like that?" Naruto finally said.

Sasuke just eyed him shrugging. "I don't know, nor do I really care. He is not my problem."

They walked the few feet they had left, stopping outside Naruto's class room.

"See you at lunch?" Naruto nodded, giving the boy a breath taking smile. He couldn't help the warmth that flowed through him when Sasuke returned it with a smile of his own. It was nice being able to see this Sasuke. Normally he was always so quiet and cold towards the others.

"'Kay" He turned towards the door and opened it. I looked like everyone was working on some problems that Asuma had written up on the board.

Naruto went to enter the class fully, when he stopped dead in his tracks and squeaked. His face turned a bright shade of red as he turned to glare at Sasuke's retreating back.

The rest of the class looked on confused. Sakura though narrowed her eyes at the blond boy. She would make sure that this would be the last time Naruto tried to get out of class.

Said boy turned around smiling apologetic to the class, all the while cursing Sasuke. _'Damn bastard pinching my ass._' He grumbled to himself.

"Well Mr. Uzumaki, how nice of you too finally join us, and with five minutes left of class too. Take a seat and you can do these problems–" He pointed to the ones on the board. "Along with the ones assigned for homework."

Naruto whined as he took his seat next to Sakura. She in turn gave him a harsh kick to the ankle.

"Ow! What was that for?" He rubbed his throbbing foot, sending the girl a rather pathetic look.

"Cause you can't get your ass out of bed on time." She whispered to him, so they wouldn't get yelled at for talking.

"It was Sasuke's fault."

"Don't blame this on Sasuke. Besides you had us all worried. First you pull that stunt last night, and then you don't get up the next morning. If it wasn't for Sasuke reassuring everyone, I would have thought you died."

"Sorry, Sakura... things have just been a little confusing and stressful." He apologized. He never intended on making anyone worry about him.

"Your confused? Try being in our place. Last night was shocking to say the least. You wake up screaming and crying before latching onto Sasuke and kissing the hell out of him. I say that was more than a little confusing. Plus the look on Sasuke's face was worrisome. I have never seen so much emotion cross that boys face before." Her eyes grew dim as she remembered the look of grief and pain that spread across his pale face. "He looked like a kicked puppy."

"I... last night was just too much. It still seems like a dream." Sakura was concerned to say the least. She had grown quite close to Naruto and Sasuke, and thought of them as close friends if not brothers. She hated seeing such a lost look on the normally happy boy.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned.

Naruto blushed and began twiddling his thumbs. "Well... I don't know where I would start. I am still shocked from it... I don't know how you would take it."

"Naruto, don't worry. Whatever it is I will take it with a straight face. I will not judge or criticize you. Trust me, I am here for you." Sakura's words meant a lot to him. She was truly like his second mother.

"You'll make a good mother one day." She looked at him oddly before smacking him on the head.

"Ow... what was that for?"

"For being stupid." She retorted. "Now tell me what's the matter."

Naruto retold the whole story. Everything from the first kiss at Iruka's, to the dreams, and then to the events of the previous night. Sakura, like promised, said nothing to degrade the boy. She merely just listened and nodded. Even as they walked down the hall to their next class she said nothing.

He finally came to the part that had been bothering him the most. Naruto explained to her his feelings for Sasuke, along with the fears and confusion that came along with it.

Sakura listened and had to admit she was stunned. She would have never of guessed that Naruto and Sasuke held a bond that deep.

'_Well it looks like he was never mine, nor would he ever be.'_ She thought sadly. Though she did love Sasuke, she would never come between the two. It would be selfish of her. She didn't even deserve him, not after what he had been through. Sasuke needed Naruto, she understood that now.

As the story was told she began to understand the Uchiha a little better. He no longer seemed so cold and cruel. He was only suffering. It made her happy to see that, that would no longer be the case. She had already started to notice the ice begin to melt around his cold exterior when Naruto first came.

She truly believe that Naruto gave him a joy that he could not find in anyone else.

So as Naruto finished explaining his troubles, she did the one thing that would make everything right.

"Let yourself love him, and let him love you in return."

"What.." She put her hand up to silence him.

"If you live your life by the standards society puts on you, than you will have an empty existence. Who cares what people think of you. Naruto, you can't please everyone, and why try if it will make you miserable in the end. Always remember that your true friends will love you no matter what. Don't push Sasuke away because you are afraid of what others might think. Be scared to lose the one thing in your life that will never be replaced." Her eyes held so much emotion. She needed to have Naruto understand. "Love is love. You can't choose who your heart yearns for. Trust me Naruto, you are not gay. Fate just decided that you and Sasuke were meant for each other. You don't like men, you just like Sasuke. Simple as that... besides if anyone dares to comment on your relationship with him, they have me to answer to." She flexed her arms, grinning broadly at her friend.

Naruto couldn't ask for a better pep talk. Though he still had doubts, Sakura had given him the courage to give this love a chance. It was true, no matter what happened he would always have the people he cared for there for him.

"Thanks Sakura. Thanks so much." She gave him a warm hug, patting him on the back.

"Anytime, just be sure to make Sasuke happy."

He smiled and nodded, before turning around and running off to class.

"Later! See after classes!" He called to her as he turned the corner.

"Well I did my one good deed for today. They should call me Dr. Haruno... the love doctor." She chuckled to he own corny joke as she too headed for class.

* * *

"Early man were the first to spin tales of blood sucking creates like ourselves... except, they were of a more sinister nature. This was due to the fact that our kind grew careless, draining bodies fully and leaving the carcasses for others to find. This grew very prominent in Transylvania. It was because of that, that it became known for Vampires." Kakashi pointed to a map hanging on a wall. "But what really kicked it off, was the very notable Count Dracula. I still find it quite funny the way Hollywood depicts our kind. Dracula though was a real person, although he was better know as Vlad the Impaler." He began ranting off on the rather morbid habits of the man. Naruto had no interest in it. The guy was a freak, that's all he needed to know.

As his interest on the lecture waned, it began to refocus on Sasuke who sat next to him. He had decided to give the boy a chance, and see if he could really go through a relationship with him. The only problem now was to figure out how to tell him.

To Naruto it was like confessing his love for the boy. That he was not ready for. Besides he couldn't just come up to the boy and say 'Hey I wanna give us a try.'. Well ok, he could but it just seemed kind of tactless to him.

Naruto's eyes darted back to Sasuke, this time though black eyes stared back. He blushed at being caught.

"What?" Sasuke questioned, finding the blondes behavior odd.

"Just thinking." Was the quick reply.

"What? About me?" Sasuke tossed back. He really loved being able to joke around with Naruto like this again.

Naruto blushed even brighter and turned away. Brining Sasuke to believe that he might have been right.

"So you are thinking about me?" Again the other boy said nothing. "Thinking about all the things I could be doing to you right about– OW!" Sasuke shook his hand that had just been slammed rather forcefully in his book.

Luckily the bell rang just then, allowing Naruto a quick escape, but not before mutter something about 'stupid perverts'.

Sasuke just smirked as he nursed his injured hand, but not before sending an icy glare Kakashi's way. The man was giggling behind his orange novel.

"At least I am getting somewhere." Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"So you think."

"So Iruka has given into your advances?" He questioned.

"Oh, he will." Sasuke just shook his head, he really did pity poor Iruka. That man will have hell to put up with when he finally gives in.

With a few insults as parting words, Sasuke left to his next class.

* * *

Dinner was the same as ever. The meal was delicious, cooked with tender loving care by Hinata. Tonight's menu consisted of a small before dinner caesar salad, followed by a bowl of the best spaghetti Naruto had ever had.

He had wolfed it down in a matter of seconds, leaving just enough room for desert. From what Sakura had told him it was a strawberry cheesecake.

Hinata had left for a moment to grab the pitcher of tea. Sakura was running low and those who had finished the glass of blood they had been drinking, wanted something different to quench their thirst.

Sasuke sat next to Naruto fuming. He had watched Hinata the whole dinner, as she flirted with his Naruto. He knew that he should calm down but still, Naruto was flirting back.

Sakura was also sending silent threats at Naruto to stop it. Sadly the boy didn't know he was putting on his charms. To him he was just being nice.

Ino though seemed to be promoting the interaction between the two. She thought that Naruto and Hinata made a cute couple. If only she knew the truth.

Hinata soon came back with the tea and headed straight for Naruto.

"Tea?" She asked, smiling a little too sweetly for Sasuke's liking. It didn't help that Naruto smiled back.

"Sure." At this Hinata reached across Naruto to grab his glass. Unfortunately this gave him a good view of her breasts, causing him to blush.

That was the last straw. Sasuke stood up quickly, slamming his napkin down on the table.

"I can't take this!" He stormed out of the room, leaving a very worried Naruto and an irritated Sakura.

She really didn't know if she should hit Naruto or just yell at him. In the end she decided to do both.

"Dammit Sakura." Naruto rubbed his swore head.

"Will you stop flirting with Hinata." Hinata blushed.

"Hey Sakura calm down. If they like each other then leave them be." Sakura looked over at Ino.

"That would be fine, except Naruto doesn't feel that way about her."

"Oh so you can speak for him?"

"Shut up!" Everyone turned to Naruto. "Ok I get it... I'm sorry... I just..."

Sakura sighed, coming over to place a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I don't think we are the ones you should be apologizing too."

Naruto nodded, understanding what she meant. Turning around he left the kitchen without a second glance.

"What was all that about?" Ino questioned, utterly confused.

"Oh, you should find out soon enough." Sakura smiled, taking another sip of her tea.

* * *

Naruto stood in front of Sasuke's door. He knocked on it lightly, not seeing a need to pound on it. He waited there, hearing a soft thumping of bare feet on carpet.

"Who is it?" Sasuke's smooth voice filtered through the wooden door.

"It's me." He meekly replied, feeling truly bad for hurting Sasuke.

The sound of a bolt snapping came to his ears as the lock was undone and the knob twisted. Sasuke pushed the door open to let the other boy through.

Like a scolded child, Naruto inched his way inside the unfamiliar territory. This was the first time he had ever been in Sasuke's room. It was some what unnerving.

The walls were a grey blue that went well together with the black and dark blue accessories. It was a depressing room to say the least, although it did fit the Uchiha's personality.

"So what do you want?" Sasuke turned to Naruto, not the least bit pleased with the boys earlier actions.

"Sorry." He said it so softly that Sasuke almost missed it.

"Hmm... for what? If you like Hinata, than who am I to get in your way?" It was said in a cold harsh tone that cut Naruto deep, almost bringing him to his knees. It hurt.

"It's not that. I didn't know what I was doing." He could feel the tears building up but he would not cry in front of Sasuke.

"Didn't look that way to me... besides if you love her— "

"I don't love her!" Naruto yelled cutting him off. "I'm sorry ok. I was just trying to be nice... she's not the one I love." Blue eyes stared into Sasuke's drawing him in with their intensity.

"Then who do you love?" The two drew closer, the space between them diminishing with every step. Naruto knew that he could not give Sasuke that answer yet. He still needed time. Still though he wanted to convey to Sasuke all the feelings that had been warring inside of him. He would show him just how much he needed him.

Naruto's heart hammered in his chest. The rhythmic beat pushing him onwards to the goal he had just given himself.

They came closer still, their breaths mingling. Naruto closed his eyes as he felt Sasuke's hot breath fan over his flushed face. This was it, he couldn't wait.

With new found determination, Naruto pressed forward. Their lips crashing together in an awkward kiss, full of the passion they had been bottling up for so long.

It was strange to find so much comfort and pleasure in such a simple gesture. In all Naruto's years he had never thought that a day like this would come. He was in love and he could not be happier.

Sasuke too was feeling his heart overflow with a mixture of happiness, love, and passion. Naruto might not have answered his question but this would do for now. Oh yes, Sasuke could not have asked for a better way to end the day.

Things were finally looking up for him. This would definitely be his happily ever after, and he really did not care how cliche that sound.

* * *

Across town a cab came to a screeching halt outside of one of the many hotels in the city. The cab driver smiled and announced their destination to his passenger.

"There you go sir. Bayside Suites. That will be twenty-three dollars." The man in the back seat did not return his smile. Instead he dug out the proper amount of cash and exited the vehicle.

The cab hurried off, not bothering to give a good-bye, not that the man would have returned such a useless gesture.

His dark eyes took in the hotel before him. It was the same as ever: plain and boring.

Picking up his only bag, he made his way inside. He had only a limited amount of time and so much to do.

He really needed to get his little Christmas present ready. A sadistic smile crossed his face. He looked forward to the reaction it would cause.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Bleh, This fic is getting too mushy... but alas the darker side is coming up quickly... Muhahaha... fear for our poor couple..._

_((Runs off laughing sadisticly))_

_-Akiru-_


	12. Growth

_A/N - So sorry that its been so long. I would blame it on classes but they have been pretty laid back. Instead I will blame it on finally getting a life. Yes Ash has finally woken up and smelled the roses. lol. Truth is my new boyfriend has been taking up my writing time... although that's only half the truth. _

_I have also lost the will to write... no its not as bad as it sounds. I have just been in a slump and have had a bout of writers block... but I am back, and I am here to stay. lol... although I never really left..._

_Ok well I hope you enjoy this chapter... although I hate this one too... lol._

_Disclaimer- Currently I do not own Naruto... but I hope to fix that soon..._

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Growth

* * *

"As I sit in the light of the waning moon, your face basking in its heavenly glow, I feel my love for you grow, encircling my heart for ever more."

-Me-

* * *

Mornings were supposed to be quiet and calm. Allowing one to get used to the morning light and stretch their tired bodies. It was a time to slowly awaken and prepare for the day. 

Mornings though were not supposed to involve yelling and death threats. 

"You perverted fucking bastard!" Naruto's voice carried through the dorm, waking those still sleep and irritating those awake. 

"Oh come on, its not like I haven't done it to you before." Sasuke's voice was much calmer, but it was still loud enough to be heard. 

Naruto stomped his foot, he looked like a child; all red in the face with his cheeks puffed out. He couldn't believe what the boy in front of him was saying. 

"Dammit Sasuke, did it ever occur to you that I am not the same person as the Naruto you knew. Hell our souls might be the same, but that life is only a dream to me. So don't you dare start this 'but _that_ Naruto liked it' or whatever crap." Sasuke took a step back. In all truth he had not meant it in the way Naruto was now taking it. Sasuke knew very well that this Naruto was not the one he had known all those years ago. 

Yes they were the same in many ways, but still their life experiences were different. Their personalities differed just a little. Both were hyper and happy for the most part, but this Naruto was more of a thinker. He thought about what he did before he did it. Mulling over the possible outcomes. Granted it did not seem to be the case most of the time, but Sasuke knew that the blond did not go jumping into life changing things without thinking them through. 

"Naruto, I didn't mean it like that and you know it." Naruto's face softened. He couldn't stay mad at Sasuke. 

"I just don't want you to have some hidden expectations for me. I refuse to change myself to fit the 'me' you knew in the past." Sasuke shook his head, drawing the boy into a warm hug. 

"Don't be silly. I don't want you any other way." A perverted smirk spread across his face as his hand traveled lower on Naruto's backside. "Plus I know that either way you still like this."

Naruto stiffened when he felt two strong hands grasp his round ass. Did the Uchiha really have to be so perverted? He supposed he should have seen this coming in some sense. After all they always said that it was quiet ones you had to worry about. 

"See, that isn't so bad." He gave the firm butt one final pat. By this time Naruto was using all his will power not to kill the man in front of him. 

Sasuke who was oblivious, more or less, to the blondes rising temper made his way to the door. He was surprised though that he had yet to have his head bashed in. Past experience told him that Naruto was a short fuse, but that only made it more enjoyable to push his buttons. 

He called it pay back for all the times Naruto had done the same thing, not to mention the months of sexual frustration he had put him through. 

The door closed behind him with a satisfying click. '_Any minute now._' He smirked as he made his was down the hall and to the stairs. 

'_3_'

'_2_'

'_1_'

"SASUKE! You fucking perverted, molesting, blood sucking, emo duck butt bastard! I am going to rip off your balls with a spork and feed them to you blended and boiled. Your gonna wish..." Naruto's voice faded as Sasuke descended the stairs, looking rather pleased with himself. He knew that he would have to pay the consequences later but for now he was content. 

"How can you two be so loud this early in the morning?" Ino yawned, rubbing her eyes as Sasuke came into the living room. 

Unlike Sasuke, Ino was still in her pink rubber duckie pajamas. She was not a morning person to say the least. Sasuke vaguely remembered the time he had been sent up by Sakura to wake the girl. He never knew anyone to get so violent in their sleep. 

"Hn." He just shrugged the question off. It wasn't important so why bother answering. 

Ino though did not seem to share his opinion on the matter. 

"Hn? Oh very intelligent. Last time I checked '_Hn._' was not considered a satisfactory answer." 

"Ino, shut up." Shikamaru came lumbering down the stairs. From the looks of things he too was still asleep. At least with him you didn't have to worry about getting your head bitten off. 

Ino gave the lazy boy a scathing look, one that didn't bode well with Sasuke. Deciding it was probably safer to seek refuge in the kitchen, he turned tail and walked, not run. Uchiha's did not run away. 

At that moment Naruto came stomping down the stairs, his moody visibly foul. 

Today was not starting out the way he had hoped. First he had to deal with his perverted boyfriend... yeah that was what he could call Sasuke, and now he had to deal with the fact that if he did not hurry he would be late again for class. He doubted Asuma would let him off the hook again. He was already pushing the man as it was. 

He quickly bypassed Ino and Shikamaru, who were currently staring each other down and made his way to the kitchen. 

Hinata's cooking would make everything better, it always did. Good food was the key to happiness for Naruto. You gave him food and you had a friend for life. 

"Hey Hinata, what's for break...fast..." Naruto came barging into the kitchen, his sentence cutting off as he caught sight of Sasuke eating an orange next to Hinata. 

"Oh, Naru–to... good morning..." Hinata blushed, she still felt ashamed for trying to hit on the blond boy when his heart already belonged to another. Still though she could not stifle the jealousy she felt toward Sasuke for taking her chance with Naruto away. 

Sasuke just stared at Naruto, taking a bit of his orange.

Naruto's eyes focused on a drop of juice that escaped from the ravens moist lips. He watched as Sasuke's tongue darted out to catch the drop before it ran down his chin. 

He could feel his cheeks warm up at the sensual sight before him. It really wasn't fair, how could he stay mad at Sasuke when things like this happened. He sore Sasuke was too sexy for his own good. 

"What's the matter Naruto? You're going red." The smirk on his face told Naruto that Sasuke knew exactly what was wrong. 

"Bastard." Sasuke's smirk widened. He loved pushing Naruto's buttons. It had now become a regular game for the Uchiha. See how long it would take for Naruto to crack and then whisk the blond into a hot make out session to show that he was sorry. 

Ok so maybe that's what he wished would happen. Usually the pushing of Naruto's buttons ended up in a pissed blond and an amused Sasuke. It only ever ended in make-out sessions under special circumstances. It were those times that made it worth it.

Two weeks had passed since the night Naruto had come knocking on his door. Time had begun to move quickly after that. Things just seemed so perfect. It was like he was back in that little farming town again with Naruto keeping him on his toes. 

The time they spent together was calming. Even when they argued Sasuke felt relaxed. 

He had learned long ago that Naruto had a strange way of curing people of their problems. Sasuke was once again able to put behind him the terror of his past. He could put to rest the images of his families corpses and his brothers stained hands. 

He could forget because with Naruto everything was ok.

* * *

"Dammit, I said left a little more... No! Your other left." Sasuke shook his head. Why must everyone make simple things difficult for him. He swore he was cursed with idiots. No one could complete a task perfectly. 

"Well sorry bastard. I'm trying my best and all." Blue eyes peaked out from behind a banner that read '87th annual Eternity Ball'. 

"I hate to know what your worst is then." Sasuke mumbled, he hoped everything else was going smoothly. He had gotten sucked, yet again, into organizing another event. This time it was the Eternity Ball. The dance was a yearly tradition for the school. It was always held on the last Friday before winter break. The students looked forward to it with eagerness. It was the only formal event during the year where couples where able to get together and show off, or that was how Sasuke always saw it. 

The guys would come in with a foolish girl dangling from their arms. In reality it was just a competition of bringing the hottest girl. Sasuke would always mumble about stupid humans as they pranced around the dance floor. 

This would be Sasuke's fifth life time attending, although it would be his third year attending it here. During his last life it was held in a small settlement in Virginia, not far from where he had met Naruto. In fact this would be Naruto's second time attending it not that he was aware of it. 

Sasuke gazed back at the banner. '87th ?' He guessed that Tsunade had been holding it here for quite a while. Then again it didn't surprise him, the woman didn't like to move around constantly. He once had to assist with an evacuation and if memory served right it took him and four other people to drag the violent woman out of her house alone. 

"So Sasuke, what's next on your list?" Naruto had climb down from the ladder to stand next to his boyfriend. 

He looked over a piece of paper he had been holding. So far they had gotten the majority of the decorations up for tonight. All that was left was getting the refreshments together. The nightmare was now half over.

"Well we still need to get cups and some punch, and maybe some finger foods." Sasuke began listing off different types of cheeses and meats to place of crackers. The thought of food made Naruto's stomach growl. He hoped that he could start his break soon. 

"Ok Naruto, you can go down to the deli on the corner on main. You know the place right?" Naruto nodded, he knew the place. "Pick up everything on this list and get back here ASAP. I'll go get the punch and the cups." 

Naruto took the list, giving it a quick once over and smiling. "Aye-aye, you can count on me."

"Just be careful and don't talk to strangers." Sasuke patted the blond head, ruffling the messy locks. 

"Yes mother." Naruto pouted, causing Sasuke to laugh. Other people who stood around them working stopped to taking in the rare sight of the Uchiha laughing. It was a melodious sound that Naruto felling in love with instantly. 

"You know you should laugh more often." Sasuke said nothing, just giving him a push towards the door. 

"Be back soon." Waving a farewell, Naruto exited the building with the sound of Sasuke's laugh still resonating within him.

* * *

"Ok, so I need Muenster, Colby, Jack, Cheddar, and Swiss for the cheeses. Turkey, Salami, and Ham for the meat. Wonder if Sasuke will pick up the crackers?" Naruto walked down the busy town streets. Since it was a Friday the town was bustling with families going out to do some quick shopping or going out to dinner. 

He loved coming here, but his trips into town were few and far in between. He never had the time even if the town was only a few minute walk from campus. Plus Sasuke seemed to keep him close and busy. 

Naruto blushed at the thought. It was only last night that they had taken their relation to the next level. The images and memories of Sasuke's touch was still fresh in his mind. He could even still taste the saltiness of the Uchiha's essence on his tongue. 

He knew things were happening quickly but he couldn't find it in him to care. Naruto knew now that it was love he felt for the bastard. It made him bubble with happiness and excitement for what was to come. 

They would always be together, he just knew it. Nothing could break them apart, death wasn't even an option now. 

A frown over took his face. That was right, he would never die, never forget, and they would all forget him. They would all die. 

'Mother... Kiba...' 

The bell to deli jingled signaling Naruto's entrance to the small plump man on the other side of the counter. He lifted his gaze up from the newspaper he was readying to smile at his customer. 

"Welcome, can I help you with anything?" Naruto smiled despite his current mood. He didn't need to bother others with his problems. 

"I just need some slices of the following meats and cheeses." The man took the paper that was offered to him and gave it a once over. 

"How much would you want of each?" 

"Hmm... a pound of each should do fine." The man nodded and got to work taking out large slabs of meat and some of the biggest wheels of cheese Naruto had ever seen. The whole spectacle only helped in reminding the boy just how hungry he was. 

His stomach made a rather loud grumble just then signaling its neglect. 

"Here son, have a piece of this to hold you over." The small man handed Naruto a decent chunk of cheese. Naruto took it with a thank you, examining its orangish skin and the white inner meat.

Taking a bite, he savored it smooth and almost buttery taste. 

"Hey old man, what kind is this? It pretty damn good." The man laughed at Naruto's words as he went to weigh a batch of freshly cut cheese. 

"That there was the Muenster. Pretty good huh?" Naruto nodded vigorously taking yet another bite not bothering to look up as the bell on the door signaled the entrance of another customer. 

"I'll be right with you." The man called, not bothering to look up from his current task. 

"Take your time." A voice like silk flowed out from behind Naruto, catching his attention. The voice sounded familiar but he just couldn't put his finger on it. 

Once he had finished the bit of cheese he let his eyes slide to the left to catch a glimpse of the new comer. 

The man seemed to be in his early twenties if Naruto had to guess. He was good looking to, not that he was checking him out or anything. 

Onyx eyes met blue, his eyes were wide in surprise as he looked at Naruto.

"Naruto... is that really you?" The man turned to him fully, giving a large smile. 

Naruto was taken back by the familiarity that the man was showing towards him. He knew for a fact that he had never met him before. A man this beautiful was not easily forgotten. 

As if sensing his confusion the man laugh and rubbed the back of his head giving Naruto an apologetic look. 

"I'm sorry you probably don't remember me. In fact I'm sure you don't." The man flashed him another smile, and that was when Naruto caught it. He couldn't help but see the elongated canines that gave away what this man really was. 

"You knew the other me..." Naruto said it more to himself than to the man before him. It all made sense now. 

The man look surprised. "I am guessing I am not the first of my kind that you have met." 

Naruto shook his head. "No, I know quite a few Leben." 

"I see. I'm guessing you've met him then?" 

Naruto cocked his head to the side not sure who 'he' was. "Sasuke?" He ventured to guess. 

"Oh so he has found you again. I'm happy to hear that, the boy has been such a mess since he lost you. Do you mind me asking on how you found each other?" 

Naruto smiled showing the man his own set of fangs. "I was sent to the academy and kinda met that way." 

The man gave a harsh laugh and shook his head. "That Sasuke is something else. Always has to get his way." His eyes locked onto Naruto's boring into his very soul. "Doesn't really surprise me though. Going so far as to turn you just so he wouldn't have to go through losing you again." 

No, what was this man saying. That wasn't something Sasuke would do. 

"No, Sasuke would never do that, and if he had he would tell me." Yes, Sasuke would not keep something like that from him. This man obviously didn't know the Uchiha that well. 

"Hmm... I hope your right about that. The Sasuke I knew would do just as I have said. Although I can see why he wouldn't want to tell you if he had." 

Before Naruto could retort the man behind the count finished the order and began to ring Naruto up. 

"Sorry to interrupt but that'll be forty-four dollars and twenty-seven cents." Unwillingly Naruto turned and began to dig the cash from out of his pockets. This man was really beginning to rub him the wrong way. All he wanted to do was set him straight about Sasuke, although he thought better of it considering were he was. 

"Well Naruto it was nice seeing you again. I hope that you are correct about Sasuke... for your sake." Naruto nodded and smiled as he took his bags and hurried from the store. That had taken longer than he had thought. Sasuke was going to be slightly pissed. 

The man watch as Naruto left the shop, a twisted smile taking over his once friendly face.

* * *

Naruto had decided not to mention his run in with the mysterious man. The damage had already been done, and he did not want to face the facts that the mans word could be true. 

"Naruto! What the hell took you so long?" Sasuke had caught sight of him as he entered the large building. The lights were now dimmed giving the room a magical feel. 

"Sorry, took longer than I expected." 

"Whatever... we need to hurry and get ready." Sasuke gave him a quick peck on the lips and turned to walk away, dragging the blushing blond behind him. 

For now Naruto would forget everything he had been told today. He would live in the truth he knew and not wonder about the hidden facts that lurked in the shadows. 

He would only let the love he felt for Sasuke grow and hope that it would push out the doubt that had begun to seed within his heart.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Ok yes it was short... but I have a good reason, just hear me out. I was rushing through this and didn't have the heart to write when I wrote this. I wanted it to stop here before I got into the really important parts that need me to be on my 'A' game. _

_The next chapter will be long and I promise that you will love it... or so I hope. _

_Also I would like to pimp my friends two fics since I was the one who made her write them. lol. She is knew to FF so please go read her two fics and give her a warm welcome. When she is happy it makes me happy and when I am happy I write faster. lol. _

_Here pen name is Disgruntaled Minion so look her up and check out her fics. _

_-Akiru-_


	13. Falling

_A/N - Ok don't come at me and kill me for taking so long. I have a good excuse I swear... First off finals came and I had to focus on that. I am happy to say I passed all my classes and upped my GPA. Yush... anyways... after that I got hooked into D Grayman and that sucked away my soul. And then I just procrastinated on writing this. _

_You have to thank Disgruntled Minion for this chapter though. She forced me to sit down and write this or she would starve me. So I got this done and I got to eat. lol. _

_So yeah... with out further ado here is the chapter... its freakin' long... for me that it... 26 pages... hope that makes up for everything. _

_Also!_

_Warning- Bloody moments, and some citrus! Finally!_

_Beta'ed by the wonderful Disgruntled Minion. Love ya!_

_Disclaimer- Don't own Naruto... and all the junk..._

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Falling

* * *

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

-Confucius-

* * *

The card slot light turned green on the hotel room door granting access. It swung open letting the man on the other side to enter into the nicely furnished room. He walked in brusquely dropping the small plastic card on a table by the door.

"Ah Itachi, your back." Dark eyes darted to the source of the voice, finding a slim, dark haired man reclining in a plush armchair.

Itachi's face harden at the sight of the other man, it was a face he had not seen in a while. In fact he hoped to never see that face again.

"Madara." The name was spit as if it was poison on the tongue.

"Aw, not happy to see me?" Itachi said nothing preferring to ignore the comment and the man if at all possible. It wasn't that he hated the man, he couldn't hate his mentor. The one that had opened up so many possibilities to him. Madara was just too lively for Itachi's personal liking.

He preferred quiet and solitude. Itachi could never get that with Madara hanging around breathing down his neck. The man was like a leech that sucked the dullness out of a room.

"What are you doing here? I though you had business in Europe?"

Madara laughed, a deep melodus sound. "I was getting tired of drinking tea and eating crumpets. Plus its not the right time, everything is too damn peaceful in this corrupted world." He popped one of the small chocolates that had been sitting on the coffee table into his mouth. The dark chocolate was smooth and rich making him sigh in content.

"Hn." Itachi turned around ignoring the sight, besides he had to put this cheese in the refrigerator. After having to buy the dairy treat he didn't want to have it spoil.

"You know it's boring not having you around anymore." Itachi sighed, not even a minute of silence. "What is there here for you anyways. I find this city far too dull."

"I have business here." Was the clipped reply.

Madara shrugged his shoulders. "Your missing out on a lot... and all because of that brother of yours." Joyful eyes turned hard and cold as they bore into Itachi. "I didn't take you under my wing so you could play cat and mouse with your precious little brother."

"Let me have my fun... you don't need me at the moment anyways. I need to remind him what his purpose in life is. It seems he has forgotten again." Madara shook his head relaxing back into the soft chair.

"I swear you're one sadistic bastard... but that's what I like about you."

Itachi said nothing, there was no reason to even respond to that comment. Madara knew right well how Itachi worked.

"So tell me, what has your brother gone and got himself infatuated with this time? It must be something good, I don't think I have seen this much spirit in your eyes for a long time... in fact the last time was when you gorged out your fathers heart." The room was plunged into an icy silence, neither man spoke for a long while. Madara knew that Itachi was thinking over his words. He was always so careful when he gave out information, always keeping the deeper clues tucked tightly away.

"It seems my brother does not learn the first time... or maybe he likes the deep blue color of fear. This time though I think I might enjoy seeing those bright eyes dulling for all eternity." Madara said nothing. He knew what Itachi was referring to, how could he forget the smell of burning flesh.

"I guess I picked a good time for a visit then." Nothing more was said between the two as Itachi left once again. The time was coming near, and he could not afford to miss it.

* * *

"Naruto hold on... this is going to hurt more if you don't stay still." Sakura wack him on the head with the brush. She had been trying to do his hair for what seemed liked hours, but it was impossible to do anything with it. Naruto's hair had only one style: messy.

"Ow, that hurt!"

"Then stay still." He grumbled to himself, but listened none the less to the violent girl. He knew better than to invoke Sakura's wrath. "Naruto, it's impossible... you have too much hair, and nothing can be done with it."

Naruto glanced in the mirror truly taking his image in for the first time in weeks. His hair had grown, touching the tips of his shoulders. He was in need of a haircut, but then again his hair didn't look half bad long.

"Maybe I should get it cut..." He voiced, wanting Sakura's opinion on the matter.

She looked him over for a moment, sucking on the end of the brush thoughtfully.

"Nah, it give's you a just out of bed sexy look. Besides I don't see Sasuke complaining about it." She smirked at the light brush that began to spread over Naruto's face. Sakura had found an inner pleasure of tormenting the poor boy. Plus she thought Naruto and Sasuke's relationship was quite hot.

"So... are you almost done? I still need to get dressed."

Sakura looked him over quickly deciding that this was as good as it was going to get. No amount of hair gel and styling was going to fix this mess of hair.

"Fine, go and get ready. I have done all that I can for you." She pouted slightly stepping out of the way so Naruto could get up. Girls were really over dramatic in Naruto's opinion.

"Hey Sakura." He paused right outside the door, a thought occurring to him. "Who are you going to the dance with?" She blushed slightly before trying to laugh it off.

"Neji asked me yesterday. He didn't have anyone to go with so we thought it would be nice to go together as friends." She paused for only a moment. "But anyways... better hurry up and get ready. You only have an hour, and you know Sasuke doesn't like being late."

Naruto nodded and slipped from the room, heading down the hall towards his own. The dorm was quiet with everyone busily getting ready for the dance.

He momentarily wished for some small nosie to break the silence that seemed to grow and engulf him. It only caused him to grow more and more nervous as he was able to think on what this dance would mean.

He and Sasuke would be going as a couple, and after tonight everyone would know. Naruto was unsure if he was ready to be judged. He didn't want fingers pointed at him and mocking whispers following him, calling gay and a faggot.

No, he wouldn't think such things. What Sakura had told him was right. His true friends would always stand by his side, that should be the only thing that mattered to him. All the others are not even worth his times.

Smiling he turned the nob to his door and entered his messy room. He really need to get off his lazy ass and clean. It was just a matter of finding the time to do it.

"Ok... I need to focus. The state of my room is unimportant..." His eyes hovered over the mess. "Now if only I could find my clothes."

He had placed them out the night before, but that was the night before and his room had a way of rearranging itself while he was gone. He swore a gremlin had taken up residence in his room, making it's self purpose to make his life even more hectic.

"Damn you Bob." He cursed to the gremlin as he threw clothes off his bed and onto the floor. He found his black tie under the mess, but he still needed his dress shirt and slacks.

'_Where could they be. . . the chair!_' He scrambled over the chair to find them laying neatly folded on the seat.

"Thank god. Sasuke would kill me if they had been wrinkled." He hugged the article of clothing like it was his savior, before throwing it on his now clean bed (all the clothes now lay on the floor.). He quickly began to strip, his denim jeans falling down tanned legs and taking off his shirt to reveal a toned stomach.

It took him only a few moments to get himself fully dressed. Looking himself up and down in the mirror, he had to say that he looked pretty damn good. Naruto wore a plain navy blue dress shirt, the first few buttons open at the top. He had decided to ditch the tie, it made him look to snooty for his liking. His pants were black, hugging his legs in all the right places. Naruto looked down right hot, a thought that made him smile.

"Hey idiot! You ready yet?" Sasuke yelled through the closed door, his foot tapping impatiently. He wanted to get to the dance at a decent hour. With the time they were making, it would be a miracle if they were not the last to arrive.

"Yeah, I'll be downstairs in a minute." He yelled back, but not before mumbling "jerk.".

"I heard that." Sasuke smirked to himself as he heard Naruto quietly cursing himself. The blond was just so predictable sometimes.

Shaking his head he decided it was probably smarter to wait in the living room on one of the plush chairs then lean on the wall outside of his boyfriends bedroom.

_Boyfriend_. He liked the sound of that. It had been a long while since he let that word fall from his lips let alone slip into his mind. Now if only he could confidently call Naruto his lover. Yes he knew the boy loved him, he just need to hear it from his own mouth. He prayed that tonight would be the night he would sweep Naruto off his feet and get him to openly confess in a flourish of mushy words and declarations.

'_Good luck with that.'_ A voiced sneered, mocking him within his own head. Plus, since when had he gotten all romantic? He just sound like a love sick puppy with no hope of recovery. God forbid if it was terminal.

Either way tonight was going to be perfect, nothing and no one was going to get in his way. So then why did it feel like he was walking to his own death? Probably because nothing seemed to go as planned, not with the idiotic people he called friends. Someone would be sure to screw something up for him.

Sadly Naruto seemed to be the main suspect. If anyone was going to be messing this night up it would be the little blond moron himself.

"Hey Sasuke, is Naruto ready yet? Sakura already left with Neji and Hinata left sometime ago to meet up with Kiba." Ino stood at the bottom of the stairs with her hands on her hips. She looked slightly irritated, not a good sign, so Sasuke decided to keep the girl happy.

"Yeah, he should be down any–"

"Ki... Kiba? Kiba is here?" Both Sasuke and Ino looked up the flight of stairs to see a rather pale looking Naruto. His eyes were wide as if he had seen a ghost.

"Yeah, Sakura called him up and asked if he would drive down and be Hinata's date. Poor girl had no one to go with." She shot Sasuke a quick glare before looking back at Naruto. "We thought you would be happy to see him."

'_No no no no... This is not good._' Kiba was not supposed to be here. Naruto could already see the disasters that would undoubtably occur. It would be a fucking apocalypse. If Kiba found out that he had started hitting for the other team, so to speak, then the stupid dog breath would never let him live it down. He could just imagine the crude jokes that would be falling from his mouth.

He wasn't afraid of Kiba turning his back on him. Oh no, he knew the brunette wasn't stupid enough to pass up this great of opportunity to torture Naruto. It might as well be Christmas already for Kiba, the guy was going to have an absolute field day.

"I'm not going. Sorry Sasuke, I think I am starting to feel a little ill. I think that cheese I ate was bad. Better send it all back." Before anyone could comment, Naruto had rushed back into his room slamming the door behind him.

Sasuke blinked slowly. "What the hell?"

"Don't look at me. He's your boyfriend, or whatever." Ino shook her head and walked over to Shikamaru who was sleeping on the couch. "Come lazy ass, we're leaving." She wacked him on the head successfully waking him up.

"Ow, that hurt." He grumbled standing up.

"That was the point."

Sasuke ignored them as he began walking back up the stairs determined to drag Naruto's butt to that dance one way or another.

"Naruto! Open this door right now!" He banged his fist on the solid wood door.

"Go away! I'll puke on you!" Sasuke massaged his brow. This was going to more difficult and headache inducing than he would have liked.

"Give it up moron, I know you're not sick. What the hell is wrong with Kiba being there?" There was a short silence, and then a scurrying of feet before the door cracked open. Naruto's blue eyes looked up to him from the small crack in the door.

"He's going to make my life miserable." Was the only answer Sasuke was given.

"Why would he do that? Aren't you two like best of friends." He asked.

"That's the point!" Ok what? This wasn't making any sense to him.

"Ok, let me get this straight. Kiba is going to make your life miserable because he is your friend?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, waiting for the blond to happily enlighten him to what he wasn't getting.

"Yes, cause when Kiba finds out about us." He stuck his finger through the crack to point at Sasuke and then himself. "He is going to make it his calling to tease me about it."

So that was the huge dilemma? Sasuke shook his head, again he found himself wondering how he could have fallen for such a... he wasn't sure if idiot would quite cut it anymore. Was there even a word to fully describe Naruto? He highly doubted it.

"Hn. Your going." That was all Sasuke said before he dragged the blond, kicking and screaming, out the door and to the dance.

Yup, he had been right. Naruto was the only one who would be able to ruin this night, although with a little help from his mutt of a friend.

Sighing, he only prayed that he could salvage something from this night. Maybe a goodnight kiss if he was lucky, or if god was really smiling down on him then another blow job from that wonderful mouth of Naruto's would be even better. He still hadn't forgotten that night.

"You're thinking dirty thoughts aren't you?" Naruto looked up at him suspiciously as the walked across the yard towards the entrance to the dance.

"No... What gave you that idea?"

"You had that gleam in your eye and you were smirking stupidly." Naruto stated bluntly, not even bothering to look at the raven.

"I don't smirk stupidly." He defended.

"Sure you don't." Naruto smiled, giving Sasuke a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing off. "Race you there!"

'_And here he said he didn't want to go.'_ Sasuke laughed to himself as he raced off after the other boy.

* * *

The gym, in which the dance was held in, was crowed and buzzing with conversations and music. The decorations ended up looking nice in the dim lights, making Sasuke feel accomplished. No matter how much he hated doing the job, he always wanted to do his best.

They had arrived only minutes ago and so far Sasuke found himself bored. He watched as people danced out on the wide open dance floor. The girls spinning around in their elegant dresses as their dates lead them along with the fast beat of the song.

Naruto on the other hand was nervously looking around, hoping not to see a familiar mop of brown hair. So far he was in the clear, he just needed for it to stay that way.

Sasuke twitched in his place when he noticed a pack of girls eyeing him like a piece of meat. You couldn't really blame the girls, he did look hot after all in his blood red button up shirt and snug black pants that managed to show off his ass and still keep things to the imagination.

He couldn't say that the look the girls were giving him weren't a little scary. Luckily though he had a defense this time around. He quickly turned to Naruto, warping an arm firmly around the smaller boys waist.

"Lets dance." He whispered into Naruto's ear, being sure to let his hot breath spread a little longer than necessary over the shell of the blondes ear.

"Sure." Naruto gasped, not expecting the sudden comment.

Sasuke lead Naruto to the dance floor being sure to smirk at the disappointed girls. To bad for them, he was already taken. Better luck next time. Oh but wait, there would never be a next time for them or for anyone. He and Naruto were permanently joined at the hip now for all he was concerned. A light chuckle flowed from his lips causing Naruto to look at him slightly confused.

"What's so funny?"

"The thought of you trying to dance." Sasuke quickly replied, not even faltering a step.

"Ha ha, very funny. I'll show you just how well I can dance."

"Bring it on moron." Just then the music changed from something pop and punk to something hot, fast, and sultry. There were no words to this song, but Naruto liked it better that way. He would only have to focus on the tempo and move his body with the beat.

An impish smile curled his face, making Sasuke wonder exactly what Naruto was up. It didn't take long though, for Naruto had turned pressing his back into Sasuke chest and began swaying his hips back a forth with the music. His ass grinding into Sasuke's pelvis making a pink hue to form on pale cheeks. It took Sasuke a moment to get over the shock that Naruto was actually dirty dancing with him in a crowded room filled with friends and classmates. He had originally thought that it would be hard to get Naruto to openly show their relationship to others. This new development proved him wrong, not that he was complaining at all.

Over coming his shock, Sasuke took hold of Naruto's hips as his own started to follow the fast pace that the blond had already set.

Naruto smiled when he finally felt Sasuke get into the flow. For a moment he thought he had crossed a line since Sasuke seemed to momentarily freeze. Apparently that was not the case if Sasuke's enthusiasm was any indication. The raven had begun to run his hands painfully slow along Naruto's sides.

Apparently Sasuke had no qualms about letting people know just how 'close' they really were. Naruto had second guessed himself on whether or not he should be out here doing this in front of so many people, but he had made a promise to himself. He would not worry about what others would think. Not now, and not ever. Especially tonight, it was only going to be about him and Sasuke.

Although it was still one of his main priorities to stay well hidden from Kiba. He then took it upon himself to sweep the crowd for any sign of his friend.

He frowned momentarily when he noticed some stares, no though held any hate or disgust. He was glad to say the least. Maybe people could be excepting, he just had been hanging around the wrong crowd.

"Ah..." Naruto could not help the surprised gasp that flew past pink lips. Sasuke had taken advantage of his turned neck to latch on with his hungry mouth. He greedily nipped and licked at the tanned flesh enjoying the blonds taste and the delicious sounds his panting idiot was making.

"Sasuke... What the hell?" This was not the place to begin something like this, not when it was beginning to turn Naruto on. "This isn't the place to be doing this."

"Oh, is that so? But Naruto, this little dance of your's is turning me on." He whispered deeply making sure to thrust his hips forward to show Naruto just how turned on he was.

Naruto blushed as he felt the bulged being pressed against his clothed ass. No this was not good, and Sasuke's hands crawling up his shirt was not helping.

"Sasuke not here." He was panting harder now, and not just from the exertion caused by dancing.

"Why not? Don't you wanna show everyone just who you belong to." God that voice, Naruto was getting himself into a sticky situation, literally. "Plus I think we already have ourselves an eager audience.

Naruto's eyes followed the pale finger that extended out into the crowed that was watching them intently. Immediately Naruto paled, amongst the strange faces were three very familiar individuals.

Sakura stood blushing, but thoroughly enjoying the sight. Hinata stood next to her, trying her hardest to look everywhere but at the couple on the dance floor. Naruto did not mind them watching but it was who stood next to Hinata looking shocked that had his nerves on end.

Kiba was eyeing him like he had grown an extra head, before a smirk spread across his face. He looked Sasuke in the eye at that moment a silent message portrayed in that one look. Sasuke nodded, while Kiba gave a thumbs up before guiding Hinata away from the sight.

It was then that the song stopped, which was convenient since Naruto had stopped dead in his tracks when he had spotted Kiba.

"You jerk, you knew he was watching." Naruto accused, knowing right well that Sasuke was an evil bastard who would set him up like that. In fact he probably had this all planned from the very beginning. It was foolish to think that, but he really wouldn't put it past him to do it.

"Perhaps I did, but nothing bad came out of it." Naruto huffed walking off the dance floor and to an empty table that sat near the wall.

He fell unceremoniously into the seat with a huff; his glare still intact and focused on the Uchiha.

"Nothing bad yet. It takes time to plan these things, trust me. Kiba will wait it out until the time is right and then WHAM! Just like that he'll attack." Naruto's arms flew out in exaggeration making Sasuke shake his head at the blondes antics.

"I think your over reacting." There was no way that Kiba knowing could be this bad. What was the worst that could happen? Maybe a few snide comments thrown here or there.

Naruto abruptly stood, the chair scratching noisily against the tiled floor. He turned and walked away without even looking at Sasuke who in turn followed. He was unsure where he was going, or what Naruto was even thinking.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving."

"What? Why? We just got here." Naruto came to a halt. Sasuke had a point they had just gotten here. Was it even right of him to leave just because he was worried about some silly banter and taunts he would have to endure. This wasn't fair to Sasuke. He need to stop thinking about himself and start thinking of the other boy.

"I... I just." He couldn't look Sasuke in the eye.

Sasuke just smirked. "Oh I see you just wanna continue out earlier_ dance _in a more private setting."

"Huh?" '_What's he mean... oh... OH!' _Naruto just gapped at the raven. Was he really suggesting that? "You want to..."

"Or we could go and dance some more here. I rather like everyone knowing about us." A grin spread across Sasuke's pale face. He was really enjoying the sight of a dumb struck Naruto.

The blond was standing there completely frozen. He was torn at the prospect. On one side he wanted to stay here and not think of what could happen if they went back to the empty dorm. No one would be there, no one to hear or eavesdrop. They could do whatever they wanted, and that thought bother scared and excited him.

Naruto didn't know what would happen if they left, maybe the would sit and kiss, or a little more. Could he go further though? Could he breach all his walls and go all the way with Sasuke.

'_You have before._' A voice reminded him. It was true, but that was nothing but a dream to him. Besides why was he so worried anyways, who was to say Sasuke would take it that far. If Naruto wanted to stop then Sasuke was sure to stop.

'_Would you even stop it?_' The voice challenged. No, he wouldn't stop Sasuke, and that's what frightened him. He wanted Sasuke so much, loved him so much, and trusted him so much. He didn't, nor could he stop Sasuke.

When had a bond this tight been formed? Many lifetimes ago, that was when the unbreakable tie had been knotted and sealed. Naruto began to wonder if this had been all predestined.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up into Sasuke's charcoal eyes noticing the flecks of navy; deep blue. Yes, his eyes were so very deep. Would it be possible to drown in them Naruto wondered.

"Naruto?" Sasuke voice woke him from his thoughts. He was daydreaming again.

"Lets go back to the room." His voice was firm leaving no room for arguments.

Sasuke had to process his words for a moment. He had not expected Naruto to agree to his proposition so easily, if at all. Yet here he stood looking into determined cerulean eyes.

Maybe this night was going to be as bad as he had previously thought. Hell he might even get more than a few kisses. A part of him was bouncing like a three year old inside.

"Then shall we go?" Naruto nodded, turning back around and heading towards the exit once again. Sasuke followed close behind in silence, not daring to say something that might change his little idiot's mind. Lets just hope they could make a clean get away.

"Yo love birds! Where you think you're going?" He spoke to soon. Before they could get within four feet of the doors, Kiba had to show his face. Maybe Naruto was right, this guy might end up making both their lives miserable.

"We're tired. I feel like heading in early." Sasuke was the one who spoke up, Naruto seemed determined to make it to the door and not acknowledge his friend.

"After one dance? Sure... Like that lame excuse would fool anyone." He laughed. "Be sure to have fun. Oh and use protection, and try not to be too loud. I don't wanna have to listen to you two when we get back."

Kiba laughed again when he received a glare from Sasuke. He would never have guessed that the raven would actually win Naruto over. He had always been sure Naruto was one hundred percent straight. It wasn't like he cared, Naruto could fall in love with a bowl of ramen for all he cared. Kiba just wanted Naruto to be happy.

'_Maybe turning into a vampire changed your sexual preferences._' He thought door closed, shutting off his view of Sasuke and Naruto. Who knew, maybe he would have to ask Hinata.

Currently the girl was sipping on her punch, her cheeks were flushed no doubt from the mental images Kiba's words had brought to mind.

Kiba smiled at the cute sight. He had to admit, he never figured he would ever go on a date with a vampire. Maybe they would have to keep in touch. Yeah, that would be nice.

Quietly he stood, extending his hand towards the girl seated next to him.

"May I have this dance?" Hinata smiled sweetly, taking Kiba's offered hand. Together they went to the dance floor. They would dance the night away, enjoying each other company.

* * *

Naruto sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed, swinging his feet back and forth. His eyes were trained on the boy who was sitting in the desk chair across from him.

"I told you Kiba was going to make fun of us." The pout of the blondes lips was almost irresistible, or at least in Sasuke's opinion it was.

"Just ignore him. He only does it to get a rise out of you. If you just let the comments slide then you take the fun out of it and he will stop."

Naruto seriously doubted it, but it was worth a try. Then again Kiba could be persistent, he wondered if Sasuke would even be able to take his own advice.

"We'll see about that. Wonder who will crack first."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke wasn't sure if he like that smirk on the blondes face. What ever Naruto was referring to couldn't be good.

"Oh nothing." He wasn't going to give Sasuke the satisfaction of knowing what he was talking about.

Sasuke though didn't like being held in the dark, and he had just the way to get it out of Naruto. His own evil smirk appeared as he stood, slowly stalking over to the bed.

"Sasuke... What are you doing? No... Stay right were you are, I don't like that look on your face... Wait Sasuke! Please no... Anything but this!" Sasuke had tackled the blond on the bed, his fingers going to work at tickling Naruto's sensitive sides.

Naruto laughed hysterically. He couldn't stand being tickled, he just turning into a ball of giggles.

"Please... Sasuke... I... can't breath..." He pleaded hoping that it would be enough.

"Not until you tell me." Sasuke's dug his fingers into Naruto's hips finding an extra ticklish spot. He was pleased to know that his idiot was just as ticklish as back then.

"Fine! You... win... stop and... I'll tell you." Sasuke eased off the tickling, letting Naruto have a break. He was now straddling Naruto's hips, his face only about a foot away from the other boys.

Both were panting for breath. Naruto was coming out of his fit of giggles, drawing in deep breaths between each laugh.

"I swear that was cruel." Naruto said, finally able to breath. "That's got to be worse then torture."

He looked to Sasuke who was staring at him intently. The onyx eyes boring into his own causing himself to blush under the look. Again he found himself wondering if he could drown in there depths. The emotion he saw there took his breath away, his next words dying on his lips.

In that instant an imaged flashed before his eyes, a picture from one of his dreams. A younger Sasuke looking down at him with those same intense eyes. A great wave of emotions came rushing forth with the memory. All he could feel was the love for the man above him, he couldn't even stop the tears that began to stream down his tanned cheeks.

"Naruto... What's–" He was silenced by a finger pressed gently against his lips.

Naruto leaned forward replacing his finger with his own lips. The soft pressure sending pleasant tingles down his spin. This was the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, no the rest of eternity with. He was sure of it, nothing could ever change this feeling with in him.

"I love you." It was whispered so quietly against his lips that Sasuke almost missed it. He pulled back looking Naruto right in the eye.

"What did you say?" He had to hear it again just to be sure.

"I love you, I love you so much." With that Sasuke brought his mouth to Naruto's in a kiss that portrayed all the love and passion that they had been bottling up for so long. There were no longer an uncertainties only the blatant truth of their love spilled out in front of them.

Teeth clashed and lips moved rhythmically with each other. Tongues battled for dominance neither wanting to give into the other. Hot breath fanned over flushed cheeks. The kiss was animalistic in short, but that was only the raw passion coming out in its most primitive form.

"Ah... Sasuke." Naruto gasped trying to refill his neglected lungs.

Sasuke had moved from the blondes throat, working his mouth over a well defined jaw to a tanned necks. He kissed, licked, and nipped at the skin enjoying the little noises Naruto made with each advance. It was so hard licking at that tempting neck and not biting into it. Sasuke could practically smell the blood pulsing within.

"Naruto... Oh god Naruto... I want... I want you forever." A fang ran down Naruto's neck, scraping at the flesh. Sasuke was sure not to break the skin, just going hard enough to let Naruto know what he wanted. What he so desperately needed.

Naruto felt a shiver rack his body. God, did Sasuke know what he was doing to him? He could barely make out the words Sasuke had spoken, but when he understood what the raven was asking his mind cleared. All the lust ebbed away leaving his mind free to clearly think.

Sasuke wanted him forever. Wanted to bind themselves together in the most forbidden way. Is that what he wanted? Wasn't this going a little too fast. Yes it was, but Naruto couldn't find it in him to care. He wanted this just as much as Sasuke. His mind would not change a day from now, not even a week, month, or year. He would always love Sasuke, nothing could change that.

A taking a deep breath, he made his decision. One that would change his life for ever. He had never been more sure about something in his life.

"I want to be with you forever. I am yours until the end of time." As if to make himself clearer Naruto pushed Sasuke face back towards his neck. "I give myself to you."

That was all Sasuke had to hear. His pulse was racing in excitement at the thought of what he was about to do. Once upon a time this was merely a fantasy to him. Now though it was a reality that felt like a dream, one he hoped never to wake from.

Naruto stiffened in anticipation as he felt Sasuke's hot breath on his neck and sharp fangs ghost along sensitive skin. He knew that it would hurt, after all it wasn't going to feel like some needle prick. He knew just how thick his own fangs were and he was sure Sasuke's were around the same size. He just hoped they weren't any bigger, the bigger the more painful or so he figured.

Sasuke licked at the spot where he would bite taking in the salty taste of the others skin. Relishing in the feel of its smoothness and the fast beating pulse beneath.

In the quickest of movements Sasuke bared his fangs sinking them into soft flesh. Naruto gasped arching into the sharp pain. He was right it did hurt, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant. He could feel Sasuke's fangs inside of him, pushing deeper.

Warm blood bubbled from around Sasuke's fangs pooling into his awaiting mouth. He extracted his fangs, lapping and sucking the wounds. The tangy liquid went smoothly down his throat spreading an odd sensation through him. It seemed the more blood he engulfed the more he could feel Naruto himself. He could feel the strong drumming of his heart, his quicky heavy breaths, and overwhelming love and trust. It was if his senses had become in tuned with only Naruto, everything else was just an unimportant fact.

Naruto could feel his blood running down his neck slipping past Sasuke's hungry mouth. It was a lot of blood, an amount that was slightly concerning. Yet despite that the feeling that was radiating from the wound had turned almost calming.

"Sasuke." The raven pulled his lips from Naruto.

"You ok?" The blood was now pouring freely no longer contained within Sasuke's lips. It slide warmly down Naruto's neck over his shoulders and soaking into his shirt.

"Sa... Sasuke!" Naruto's hand clamped over the wound. "I'm losing too much blood."

"Relax your fine." Sasuke pulled the blondes hand away taking another lick.

"Like hell I'm fine. Look at all of this blood." He shoved his hand into Sasuke's face. The tanned fingers were drenched in crimson blood.

Sasuke smirked drawing one of the digits into his mouth, sucking it clean.

"There is nothing to worry about. Dying of blood loss isn't really possible for us. Our blood cells multiply and regenerate much faster than a humans." He licked at another finger, enjoy the blush that spread across Naruto's face. "That's why it's impossible to keep a human from turning into a leben once theirs is contaminated. The leben blood takes over the human body fully in less then an hour." Sasuke explained. His hands drifted down to the navy blue shirt that Naruto wore. "Here lets get this off before we ruin it more."

Naruto let Sasuke maneuver him out of the silk like material. Once it lay bunched on the for Sasuke went to remove his own throwing to lay alongside Naruto's.

"Here it's your turned." Sasuke brought Naruto's face to his own neck, still licking at Naruto's neck. It didn't seem like he could get enough of the taste of Naruto's blood. The more he drank the more addicting it became.

"What, but I..." He didn't know if he could bite Sasuke and drink his blood. Drinking blood from a glass was one thing but actually taking it from Sasuke's own neck was a completely different story.

"Just do it idiot, your not going to hurt me." Sasuke scoffed as he pushed down harder on Naruto's head.

Naruto sighed. He could do this, he wanted to do this. Determination set, he ran his tongue over Sasuke's pale neck. The boy above him moaned pushing himself closer to Naruto.

That was all Naruto needed before he let his own fangs sink into Sasuke's flesh lapping at the blood that wept from the punctures. He savored the taste, feeling it overwhelm him just as it had Sasuke.

It was a whole other sensation altogether drinking from a living person then from a cold glass. The blood tasted so fresh and warm, it was pure heaven. Maybe Naruto would have to make it a habit of drinking from Sasuke, he rather liked the flavor anyways.

They kissed and licked at each others bloodied necks, taking their fill from the other. Sasuke pushed Naruto back locking lips with him. Their tongues slipped along the other, their blood mixing along with their saliva.

The blood had intoxicated them, making them want more of the other. They wanted to feel move, to touch more, and above all else to taste more.

Sasuke's hands moved with a fury down Naruto's sides, tracing his lean frame. His muscles were taunt and his body was slick with sweat.

Naruto shivered at the touches, finding some spots that Sasuke touched to be ticklish. For the most part each touch sent a spark through his body making his blood boil. The heat spread through him pooling into the pit of his stomach before going father still.

He could feel himself growing hard under the onslaught of touches, and the mouth that joined the touching drove him over the edge. Sasuke kissed Naruto's chest before dragging a fang down its length. He licked at the marked skin in apology tasting the blood that seeped throw the thin cut.

Naruto could feel Sasuke own erection pressed down into his thigh. He arched up, rubbing his body against the others.

"Oh Naruto... shit." Sasuke ground his hips into Naruto's their movements making delicious friction between the two.

Their bodies moved slickly between each other smearing the blood and sweat together. It was an erotic sight. Hands moving over flushed limbs trying to touch all the could, mouths devouring everything in their path, and sweet nothings being whispered along with harsh words for more.

Sasuke attacked Naruto's pants. Shaky hands impatiently tried to unbutton the black slacks, making quick work of the zipper once undone.

"Lift your hips up for me." He whispered into Naruto's ear who complied instantly.

Blank pants slid down tan hips and down toned thighs. Naruto kicked them off and to the side of the bed once the were to his ankles.

Sasuke looked down at the red boxers his idiot wore and the appetizing sight of the nice sized bulge that was visible there. He reached his hand down palming the harden member loving the surprised gasp that escaped passed his lovers lips.

"Sasuke... yes..." Naruto panted his hips pushing up into Sasuke's hand.

"Do you want this Naruto? Or would you like something more." Sasuke's voice was low and husky making the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stand up.

"More... oh god more..." Sasuke smirked, hooking his thumbs inside Naruto's boxers and pulling them down. His cock stood tall now free of all constraints. Naruto blushed at being so exposed in front of Sasuke. This was only the second time Sasuke had seen him in all his naked glory and he didn't like the idea of being the only necked one on the bed.

"Off." Naruto tugged on the hem of Sasuke own pants.

The raven smiled throwing Naruto's boxers to the floor. He then brought his hands to his pants undoing them and slipping them off of his body along with his black boxers.

"You happy now?" He asked as he watched Naruto eye him up and down.

"Very." Naruto smiled pulling Sasuke back down for another kiss. He could still taste the faint traces of his blood on Sasuke's tongue but it did nothing but drive him one.

They pulled away, Sasuke tracing kisses down the blondes jaw and then back to his neck. The wound on Naruto's neck was beginning to steep, the flow of blood so now only a small trickle ran from it.

Sasuke licked at it, reopening the punchers. The blood poured freely again staining the pillow and sheets beneath them.

A pale hand came to rest on the cuts, the blood running over the slender digits. The were covered in blood, stained deep crimson. Sasuke rubbed his fingers together admiring the slick texture.

"This will do." Naruto looked a him confused. That will do for what? He wasn't sure.

"What do you mean?"

"Well we obviously don't have any lube laying around." Sasuke bluntly replied.

Naruto blushed. He had not idea that they were planning on going that far. Ok, that was a lie, he was expecting and wanted it. He just didn't know it was going to happen this soon into the night.

'_What, you think Sasuke was going to wait forever?_' A voice mocked him from some dark corner in his mind.

"Naruto, you ok? We don't have to do this if you don't want to." The concern in Sasuke's voice was touching.

"I'm fine, and yes I want this..." His words faded away allowing a smile to form on his lips.

"Good cause you really had no choice in the matter." Naruto's brows knitted together. How dare he say that, the bastard. Was Sasuke going to rape him if he had said no.

Naruto knew better, it was just a rouse to anger him. Ha! Like he would fall for that.

"Well then I guess it is good that I said yes."

"Hn." Sasuke didn't bother answering as he went to reposition himself between Naruto's legs. He brought the blondes hips to rest on his thighs, giving Sasuke perfect access to that tight whole.

Naruto squirmed not liking how intently Sasuke was staring at his ass.

"Do you have to stare like that. It embarrassing." He whined.

"Hold still then and relax. This is going to sting a bit at first." Naruto nodded and complied relaxing his muscles. He took a deep breath and laid his head back on the soft bed.

Sasuke brought a blood covered finger and circled it around Naruto's entrance before pushing it in and past the tight ring of muscles.

"Ah..." It felt weird, Naruto would admit that, but he couldn't say that it was that painful. Then again it was a little uncomfortable having a finger shoved up your ass.

"You doing ok?" Sasuke asked, thrusting his finger in and out.

"Ye... yeah I'm good." His words were broken as he tried not to concentrate on that little finger being pushed into his private place.

Seeing that Naruto was doing fine he decided that it was about time to add another finger. This time it stung Naruto a little, but he didn't utter a word of discomfort.

Sadly though he could not stop the cry of pleasure that ripped from his throat when Sasuke brushed his finger against a bundle of nerves inside of Naruto.

"Fuck... ah... what... the hell was... that." He was trying to breath regularly but his breaths can out in pants and gasps.

"You liked that?" Sasuke moved his finger just like he had down moments before. He was rewarded by another moan for his efforts.

Finding himself growing impatient, Sasuke began scissoring his fingers. He stretched Naruto as much as he could so that he could make this as painless as he could.

Removing his fingers, he spread the rest of the blood along his hardened cock. He made sure that it was coated to his liking before positioning himself at Naruto's entrance.

Sasuke found himself have to take a calming breath. This would be the first time in many, many years that he would be able to become one with Naruto again. When he ended his last life, he never would of guessed that God would smile down on him and give him a second chance.

"Sasuke... you ready?" Sasuke laughed, that was supposed to be his line.

"I should be asking you that?"

"I'm ready then. Take me Sasuke." Sasuke didn't need to hear anymore, he pushed into Naruto in one quick movement.

"Damn that stung..." Naruto gasped trying to relax himself and get used to the feeling of having Sasuke within him. Despite it feeling so foreign, he could not deny the familiarity that came along with it.

"You knew... it... would..." Sasuke was struggling with himself, he had to keep still and not hurt Naruto, but it was so hard not to fuck him into the mattress.

"Yeah... I did..." He paused for a moment, moving his body slightly. "You can move... I'll be... Ok..."

It took no time for Sasuke to give into Naruto's wishes and trust into the blond, filling him over and over again.

Naruto had never felt anything quite like this. A feeling of wholeness, he felt complete with Sasuke buried with in him.

"Oh Sasuke... faster... damn... faster..." Naruto's hips raised and met Sasuke with each thrust, becoming more and more frantic. They were aiming for the same goal, to reach the ultimate high within each others arms.

Sasuke griped Naruto's hips with a bruising force, his fingers digging into the skin making crescent cuts there. He had never felt anything so amazing, he was losing control and fast.

He plunged into Naruto again and again, their moans and words being mixed together becoming nothing but incoherent noise.

They pushed one another closer and closer to the edge of their control. Naruto could feel the heat begin to twist and turn, noting tighter and tighter. It was here, the monumental high, that it would all come down in a rush.

Sasuke too felt his own release fast approaching.

"Naruto... I'm... shit..." Their bodies became more frantic losing all sense of pace.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried, coming over Sasuke hand. He wasn't even sure when it had gotten there. His body was shaking from the force of his orgasm.

Not a moment later Sasuke came as well, spilling his seed within Naruto. In the flurry of the moment he brought his mouth down on Naruto's shoulder biting into it.

Naruto said nothing, he was to exhausted to acknowledge the pain that flared to life in his shoulder. He just could smile as he felt Sasuke kiss the new wound.

The raven looked at him a peaceful look on his face, but Naruto paled at the sight his vision blurring in and out.

Staring back at him were no longer the coal black eyes he had come to love, instead blood red orbs rested in there place.

As sleep over took him, only one thought raced through his foggy mind.

'_Please... no..._ _It can't be... _'

* * *

Naruto woke with a start the next morning. His blues eyes stared at the off white ceiling still trying to wake his drowsy mind.

The clock on the night stand glowed 12:46. He had slept in longer than he was used to. Then again it was to be expected. Images of the previous night flashed through his mind, but instead of happiness he felt a deep ache within his heart.

Those glowing red eyes kept replaying over and over again in his head, making him seek the comfort of the heavy comforter.

He winced momentarily as a sharp pain shot up his spine at the small movement a strong reminder at the bond they made. Naruto's hand shot up and tenderly pressed as his neck, pulling it back quickly when he felt the clotted blood there.

Doubt resurfaced, and he wondered if he had not made a horrible mistake. Was Sasuke actually the one who had turned him. The one he loved was the one he hated most. Could that stranger he had met on that fateful day been right?

No, he could not afford to think such things. Sasuke loved him, he had no doubt of that, and he knew Sasuke would not have done that to him. If he had then he would be sure to tell him. After all Naruto trusted Sasuke above all else.

'_You have only known him only for about a month._' A voice chided, growing from his worry.

No, he would not think such things. He would ask Sasuke about, that was the smart thing to do. For all he knew all leben could change their eyes like that.

He was over reacting, that was all. He could not afford to let something so silly ruin such a good thing.

He took a calming sigh before looking around the room. The spot next to him was empty, but he was not surprised. Sasuke usually couldn't sleep in past ten.

He tried to sit up, being sure to be gentle on his tender bottom. Luckily it wasn't too bad of a pain, more of an annoyance than anything else.

Looking down he couldn't help but grimace. His how chest was covered in dried blood and another substance that only made him blush when he thought of what it was. He was going to have to sneak into the showers like this. Hopefully no one would be in there, it would be embarrassing for anyone to see him in this state.

His eyes glanced back at the clock, this time taking in the small note and two pills with a glass of water that sat there. They were no doubt from Sasuke and it made Naruto smile to know that he was cared for.

He took the two pills, which he was sure were pain killers, and picked up the note.

_Naruto,_

_Good morning idiot, you snored and kept me up so I figured I might as well get up. _

_I left you some aspirin since I am sure your ass is killing you. Anyways, get your butt up _

_and get into the shower, god knows you need it. I'll be down stairs with your breakfast. _

_Love, Sasuke._

"Bastard." Naruto mumbled putting the note away. He might has well run to the shower, his stomach was killing him. It need food, like right now.

Getting up he limped to a towel that sat neatly fold on the chair and proceed to wrap it around himself trying to hide as much of the mess that he could.

With one more longing glance at the bed, he walked out into the hall and ran to the showers, being slowed only by the pain in his ass.

* * *

Sasuke sat in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee. He had long since finished his breakfast and was now waiting for Naruto to come down stairs so that he could give him his as well.

A small smile spread across his lip. One that did not go unnoticed by Sakura who sat across with his with Ino.

The green eyed girl raised a questioning eyebrow. Since when did Sasuke Uchiha give small smiles at the table.

She eyed him suspiciously, there was only one person that could make him smile and that person wasn't here. That was a whole other oddity in itself. Naruto was usually up and being his noisy self by this time.

Ino who seemed to be thinking the same thing spoke up.

"So Sasuke where is your little boy toy this morning." He asked.

Sasuke looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Probably still in bed sleeping."

"You really wore him out last night didn't ya?" Sasuke's head snapped to the doorway where Kiba stood. He hadn't seen the boy for more than five minutes this morning and he was already pulling out snide remarks. Maybe next time he would have to take Naruto seriously.

Ino's eyes widened as Sasuke's turned head exposed the marred skin of his neck. Standing out boldly against pale skin were two angry red welts, tell tale signs that he had been bitten.

"Sasuke!" The raven haired teen jumped as he was attacked by the blond girl. She yanked his head to the side getting a close up view of Sasuke's neck.

"You didn't." She gaped in disbelief.

Sakura and Kiba who were thoroughly confused came to stand next to her, taking in the small bite wound.

"Shit dude, looks like you got bite by something nasty. Hate to see the spider that got a hold of you." Ino hit him over the head, successfully shutting him up.

"Those are leben bites... but..." Sakura looked just as shocked as Ino.

"Good morning guys." All heads whipped around to look at Naruto who had picked this moment to enter the kitchen. "What?" He wasn't sure if he liked the way they were staring at him.

Ino released Sasuke and walked over to Naruto looking him over completely. It didn't take her long to spy the welt on Naruto's neck. It looked as if Sasuke wasn't as gentle, leaving a rather nasty bite. Naruto had guessed that, that had been the one Sasuke had given him during his climax.

"I knew it! You guess actually did it... didn't you." Ino pointed her finger at the two.

Naruto blushed not meeting anyone's eyes, and Sasuke just sat there taking another sip of his coffee.

"You mean you two really fucked each other. Man, I was just kidding, but this is awesome. My little Naru is all grown up now." Kiba laughed as he wiped away imaginary tears.

Sakura stared. "You mean you two had sex too?"

Naruto turned even brighter if he could.

"Is this any of ya'lls business?" Sasuke spoke up, not liking the scrutiny he was getting.

"Well sorry its not every day or hell life time that you see two people engage in such a forbidden act." Ino shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't care what they did with their lives, but still she was kind of jealous. It was scary to think that she might never find someone she loved enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, not sure what was going on. "Since when is having sex that bad?"

"They didn't just have sex, they bonded themselves to each other for all eternity. The marks on their necks prove it. The have drank each others blood, thus tying them together forever." Sakura explain, looking at Ino to make sure she had gotten it right. Ino nodded finding the whole thing old news already.

"Yeah, but oh well. I'm going to go finish up some homework, gotta be free for me and Shika's date tonight." With that she left, not even bothering to wave goodbye.

"So you guys are stuck together... like forever?"

Naruto nodded, still not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Sucks to be you. I guess this ruins my whole strip bar hopping plan for your twenty first birthday." Naruto giggled at the dramatic sigh that left his friends mouth.

"I think you will live. You can always take Shino, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Besides that guy has to start looking at something else then his bug collection."

KIba laughed. "True, but he kinda creeps me out at times. Maybe I will take him, but I gotta go. Me and Hinata are going to head into town before I have to head home. I'll catch you later." He waved and left the kitchen, leaving a smiling Naruto.

"That guy is something else." He took a seat next to Sasuke, running a hand through his wet blond hair.

"I feel sorry for him though. He really likes Hinata, but it's a relationship that's doomed to fail. Humans and leben can't inter breed. Gaara is a good example of that. It's more or less banned now a days." Sakura smiled sadly, she shouldn't have called Kiba. What she had done could have been called cruel. She had pushed them together when she shouldn't have.

Sasuke and Naruto said nothing. There wasn't anything to say on the subject, just a hope that maybe they could find some sort of happiness together if their relationship went any farther.

"Well I guess I will leave you two love birds alone. I am sure you have a lot of mushy words to say to one another." Sakura skipped from the room, ignoring the death glare Sasuke gave her.

The kitchen was engulfed by silence neither boy knowing what to say. So many words hung in the air, but none seemed right after the night they had.

"Your breakfast is in the microwave. I made you french toast." He got up from his seat and retrieved the plate setting it in front of his lover.

He was quite happy that he could finally call Naruto that now. Last night had turned out better then he had ever hoped, and here he thought he would only get a blow job if he was lucky.

"You cooked this?" Naruto questioned, not sure he wanted to eat it now. He poked it with his fork like it was about to jump to life and eat his face.

"Yeah, it that a bad thing?"

"I just want to be sure it safe to eat." Sasuke growled deep in his throat causing to Naruto to stuff a piece into his mouth. "It's good."

He ate his meal in silence, every once in a while stealing glances at Sasuke. He was trying to find the right time to ask him about his eyes. Finding now a good of time as any, he put down his fork and looked at the raven.

"Um, Sasuke. Can I ask you a question?" Sasuke turned his head to look intently at the blond, showing him that he had his full attention.

"Last night... your eyes, they turned red." Might as well be blunt and get to the point. Why waste time beating around the bush, besides it would most likely anger Sasuke.

"Oh that?" Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Happens when I loose control, mainly due to blood lust. I guess even regular lust can trigger it." He drank his coffee putting the empty cup down.

"So can that happen to me?" Naruto asked, wanting to hear more about this.

"No, it's something only I can do. The ability runs through my veins. It's only handy though for hypnotizing my prey. Since I don't hunt humans anymore, I rarely use it." That was not the answer Naruto wanted to hear. His heart constricted painfully, it had been Sasuke. All along he had been lied to.

"Naruto you ok?" He realized he been zoning out and looked up into worried eyes.

"I'm fine, just a little tired still." He forced a fake smile on his face. "I think... I think I am going to go for a short walk. Try to work out this limp."

Sasuke chucked, not seeming to notice the change in the blondes mood.

"Just be sure not to hurt yourself more." Naruto decided not to say anything. He just mumbled to himself as he walked out the door, hoping to leave his pain back there in the kitchen.

The air outside was crisp, chilling him through his jacket. It had started to snow again but he didn't care. The calmness of the snow did nothing but anger him more. It seemed to be mocking him in it's brilliance, showing him a peacefulness that he could never have.

Quietly he walked through the snow finding comfort in the rhythmical crunching under his feet. It was a unique sound, one he always enjoyed hearing. When he was young it never failed to bring a smile to his face.

Naruto walked around the back of the dorm towards the main street that headed into town. He was thinking about walking the busy town streets, maybe finding more comfort in a noisy atmosphere then in the silence here.

The street into town was empty, not many cars driving by. It was a slow day which was odd considering it was a weekend, but that was the last of Naruto's worries. He couldn't believe Sasuke had been the one to turn him, and how could he not of said anything. Was his love all a lie. No that wasn't it. Sasuke did love him, but then why couldn't he have just told him the truth.

Was it that he was afraid to loose Naruto again. That made sense, but still why couldn't he have said something.

Naruto was so confused, not knowing what to think nor do. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice that he had reached the town until a shocked voice reached his ears.

"Naruto... is that you?" Said blond looked up meeting a pair of onyx eyes. For a moment he was taken aback. What was Sasuke doing here? "Are you ok?"

Taking a closer look at the speaker he saw he had been mistaken. It was in fact the man he had met at the deli only the day before.

"Sorry, I was spacing out." The man smiled, shifting the bag of groceries he carried to fit more comfortably in his arms. Naruto pushed a smile on his face as well, not wanting his conflicting emotions to show on his face.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind. Anything you want to talk about?" Naruto stared at the man, contemplating where or not he should confide in him. It was him after all that had warned him in the beginning. What did he have to loose? Maybe talking to this man would help him organize his thoughts.

"You know what you told me yesterday, Mr... uh..." It occurred to Naruto just then that he did not know the mans name.

"Itachi, you can call me Itachi." Naruto smiled reaching his hand out in greeting.

Itachi took it shaking it.

"It's nice to meet you again, Itachi." They shook hands for a moment before pulling apart.

"So what was it you were going to say Naruto?"

Pain briefly passed over Naruto's features. He didn't know where to begin or what to say. It was hard enough looking in this mans eyes, he looked so much like Sasuke.

"You were right... about Sasuke." He mumbled it out, not find the strength in him to voice the painful truth out loud.

Sensing how touching the subject was, Itachi placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulders.

"Come on. I'll take you back to my hotel room and we can sit down and talk about this in private." When Naruto nodded, trying to hold back the tears that he hadn't realized were there.

Itachi waved down a cab that passed by, opening the door for Naruto. A small smirk spread across his face as he got into the back seat. This was all to easy, and going all too perfectly.

The cab drove off as pale eyes followed it down the street. Hinata frowned, she had never seen that man before, and something about him seemed to send chills up her spine.

She decided to put it behind her though, if Naruto knew him then she was sure he was fine. Turning around she decided to go fetch Kiba he had spent enough time looking through CD's. She still have to go to the salon and get a quick trim.

Maybe when she got back, she would ask Naruto more about the man. Perhaps Sasuke might even know about it. Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way down the busy streets.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

_A/N - Ok so there you have it... too much fluff to handle, a bleh lemon, and a creepy Itachi... the whole idea of him carrying groceries cracked me up... but yeah... onto the angst and the climax of this story. _

_Two chapters to go and an epilogue. Hope to get this done before I leave for vacation... will be driving up the east coast and up to Canada... so I will be gone all of June. But I am sure you all can live without me updating for a month... you lasted this long after all... _

_Ok... well I am off to go update Affinity now. _

_-Akiru-_


	14. Storm

_A/N - Well I never thought that I would actually get this done. I really have planed to update this once I got back from vacation, but then I got hooked on D. Grayman and then I had class again... and let me tell you how hard this year has been... Bio kills!_

_And then when I did finally have free time I was watching Code Geass and managed to get obsessed over that... sadly I think Its now my number one series... and Suzaku/Lelouch is neck and neck with SasuNaru now... but alas I finally wrote this... _

_Especially after I deleted this chapter once due to a fight with my Hist. of Religions essay. So I ended up having to rewrite it.. Although I think I like it better this time around... _

_Also on a last note I want to thank two very special friends who stuck with me, gave me support, put up with me, and forced me at gun point to write this... ok well maybe not at gun point. Although I know one of them would if given the chance. xD kidding. Anyways you two should know who you are... _

_Now I will shut up so you all can read this crappy chapter... not too too happy with it. _

_Beta'ed by Disgruntled Minion... everyone should go tackle her... lol ... I luv ya! You made me look better than I really am... Thanks so much... Can't wait to see ya this weekend. We shall cause havoc where ever we go... muh hahaha... unless it cause me not to get my Lulu figure... *cries*... xD_

_

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Storm

* * *

"_It was the calm be for the storm_."

* * *

The ding on the elevator sounded ominous as it came to a halt on the floor that held the presidential suite. Maybe it was the rain and sleet that sounded dimly through the hall, or the chill that ran up his spin that made Naruto falter in his footsteps.

He was suddenly reminded of a horror movie, he was just waiting for the lights overhead to flicker out.

A door clicked shut down the hall. A man, similar to the one next to Naruto, came walking down the hall. His polished shoes made no sounded as they hit the plush carpet.

He looked up and smiled at Itachi. "Going out for a walk... I think I'll meet someone interesting today."

Itachi nodded not paying much attention; his eyes had yet to leave Naruto.

Naruto seemed unaware of the gaze as he wondered who in their right mind would want to walk about in this weather. Granted he too had been walking in it, before it had yet to sleet.

The elevator closed behind the man, silence hovered in the air once again.

"Friend of yours?" Naruto felt compelled to ask.

"Something like that." The smiled he received seemed almost forced. Naruto decided that maybe friend might have been too strong a word. Acquaintance might have been better used.

The couple started up again making a slow pace towards the door. The soft slip of a card into the doors slot made Naruto jump.

"Come on, it's warmer in here." Itachi pressed Naruto forward rather forcefully, and the blond stumbled into the room.

His ears picked up the distinct sound of the deadbolt being slipped into place along with the chain lock on the door. It was then that the foreboding wave washed over him, leaving him cold and shaking. Something was not right and it was too late to do a thing about it.

Sasuke sat in the living room, his foot tapping impatiently on the carpeted floor. His whole body felt rigid and tensed, a complete contradiction to how he emotionally felt. To him the day could not get any better, well that was a lie. Naruto laying in bed naked, writhing under him would most definitely make his day better.

A smirk spread across his face; maybe he could work something out with his blond idiot. The only problem was he had not seen him since this morning. It worried him slightly, but it only had been an hour. It was not uncommon for Naruto to get side tracked and take more time then he meant on an excursion.

He would wait another hour before he got up to go look for him. Sasuke would end up finding him off doing some random activity, he always did.

The front door flew open, a panting Sakura and Ino ran in, wet from head to toe.

"I'm fucking freezing." Ino swore stripping out of her coat. "Stupid weather, can't they warn us when there is a chance of sleet."

Both of their faces were flushed with cold and exertion. They must have run here, trying to find shelter from the storm.

Sasuke's face melted into a frown, his eyes taking in sight of the rain from the open door. Naruto would have come back as soon as the first drops of sleet and rain came down.

"When did this start?" His voice was low, showing no hint of the worry that was beginning to bubble within him.

"Umm... about half an hour ago. It started coming down while we were in the studio." Sakura explained. "Well it might have started sooner, since we didn't notice it till we were heading out." She shrugged her shoulders, not seeing any importance in the conversation.

Dark eyes stared at the wall. "You didn't run into Naruto did you?"

"Naruto? No, I thought he was with you."

"He left a while back to go on a quick walk. Work out the kinks." He smiled despite himself.

"Well I'm sure he is somewhere... maybe he went to town. Hinata and Kiba should be getting back from there soon. He could be with them."

Sasuke nodded. That was quite possible. Taking a breath, he calmed his nerves. Sasuke would wait until Hinata and Kiba got back before he started to panic. Naruto would be fine; he would not loose him again.

Naruto did not even get a chance to question the locked door before a hard hand made impact on his cheek. The force of the blow sent him back into the wall, its white surface now lightly splattered with blood.

Blood pooled in his mouth from his cut cheek, causing him to gag and spit the liquid onto the floor. Naruto's head spun trying to piece together what had just happened.

The clicking of the lock, the force of the attack, the knowledge of these sent warning bells off in Naruto's mind. His life was in danger, he had to get away. Run, RUN! His mind screamed at him as he hoisted his form from the wall.

Itachi smiled at Naruto's poor attempt at escape. He would not let the boy get away that easily. Too long had he planned for this to let it be ruined now.

"Where do you think you are going, my little Naruto." Pale hands wound themselves in sun kissed strands, pulling them from the blondes scalp.

Naruto's hands reached for Itachi's wrist trying to free himself from the painful grip. He could feel his hairs ripping, but the instinct to get away was to strong in him to care.

It was a futile attempt; all the struggling got him nowhere. The grip Itachi had on him was too powerful.

"P–please..." Naruto pleaded as his back met the wall in another painful hit. Blood fell to the floor, dripping from his still bleeding mouth.

"Please what? Please let you go?" The older man laughed. "Why? So you can ruin everything again? I think not my little Naruto. You already ruined everything once, I even allowed you to live again."

Naruto looked up at the man, his pale blue eyes meeting deep red. "What..." He was at a loss for words. Those eyes, they were the same dangerous and angry red that he had seen months before, not the loved red that he had seen Sasuke cast upon him. "You... you were the one... not Sasuke..."

"I couldn't have my brother obsessing over you again." The room went unnaturally quiet, the only sound being the soft patter of rain and the gasping breaths Naruto made in desperation as Itachi's hand wound its way around his neck.

It felt so fragile, like the neck of a swan. A little more pressure and perhaps Itachi could hear that pleasing crack and feel the body go limp in his arms. The idea of such a cruel act brought about a sense of power that he basked in.

"When I chanced upon you that night, I knew it was fate. I was given a chance to test my dear brother. I had to be sure that he had learned his lesson." The tension around Naruto's neck tightened, causing him to wheeze and made blood and spit overflow from his mouth. "I gave him the forbidden fruit, and like the little sinner he has become, he partook. You _monster! _You corrupted him... because of you I am nothing to him. I am his _everything_!"

Naruto's back hit cold tile as he was thrown back with such a force that it left him even more breathless than before. Each gasp was a way to hold onto life, to regain some sense. The man in front of him had killed his own family, he knew this now. Ino's tale was fresh in his mind, replaying the cruelty that had been done with those hands. This was the man Sasuke wanted to kill, and this man was the one to put such a curse upon him. Yet this man was the one to bring him back to Sasuke, that much he was grateful for.

"Ah! Shit..." The heel of Itachi's boot dug into his wrist and brought tears to Naruto's eyes. God it hurt so much, his whole body throbbed.

"Get up!" Itachi ordered, kicking his other foot into Naruto's side, making him roll onto his back and twisting his captive arm in the process. Crimson locked with blue and Naruto could see the deep hatred and desire for death dancing in them as they glared down at him.

"No..." This might be his last chance to fight, he would be damned if he let himself be killed so easily. Naruto was not going to make this a walk in the park for Itachi.

Naruto felt his skin ripping as he pulled his arm free from the heel of Itachi's boot and jumped to his feet. In a burst of strength, he attacked; aiming a fist to the demons face. It was a brave effort but a foolish one. Itachi sidestepped the attack allowing Naruto to collide with the kitchen counter, before grabbing the back of his shirt and tossing him against the opposite wall. Naruto's body slid down the pristine white wall, leaving a trail of blood as he fell to the ground.

"Fighting me will get you no where, little Naruto. Your fate has been sealed the moment we crossed paths. You will die and I will so enjoy feasting on you heart." The knowledge of what would happen to him made his stomach turn. Never had he imagined that something so hideous would happen to him. This was far from the image he had of his death.

'_I'm not ready for this_.' His mind flashed with perceptions of how it would be to die in that way. None of them was pleasant. '_I don't want to die._'

Itachi advanced on him.

'_God help me.'_

It was then that Naruto took notice of the heavy wooden rolling pin in Itachi's hand.

'_Come save me..._'

Naruto shrunk down in front of Itachi.

'_I can't die._'

The rolling pin was raised.

'_Save me–'_

Naruto felt the hard thud and piercing pain before the darkness engulfed him.

'_Sasuke...'_

Sasuke jumped, roughly awoken from his mid-day nap as the front door was forcefully swung open, and that mangy dog walked in barking some idiotic thing to a meek Hinata.

"See I told you we could get back here before the weather got to bad."

"I shouldn't have doubted you." Hinata whispered, hanging up her scarf on an empty peg.

"Never doubt me; I have a sixth sense for these things." Kiba gloated.

"I will keep that in mind... I wonder if Naruto is back yet?" She mused. Hinata had gotten a little bag of chocolates and she was hoping to give them to him as soon as possible.

"He'll probably stay with whoever that guy was you saw him with. It would be crazy to go back out in a storm like this." Sasuke's eyes perked up at the turn the conversation had gone.

Naruto was with another guy? Jealousy crashed against his consciousness before fading away to worry. Naruto wouldn't cheat on him, was he kidnapped? No that wasn't right either. Hinata would mention if Naruto looked scared in the mans presence.

"Who was the guy?" Sasuke asked as the duo came into the room.

"Oh Sasuke, I didn't know you were here." Sasuke shook his head. '_No shit Sherlock I just live here and all_.'

Ignoring Kiba, Hinata turned to Sasuke and smiled. "I wasn't really sure who it was. I honestly thought it was you till I got a better look."

Sasuke felt his heart thrum deep in his chest, anxiety working its cold path through his veins.

"What did this guy look like?" Oh god, he hoped he was wrong. There was only one man that ever made such a fearful feeling wash over him. For Naruto's sake, he hoped his instincts were wrong.

"Well... like you... kind of except I think he had longer hair... and he was no doubt older than you." Hinata looked at him quickly. "Why is it someone you know?"

Sasuke only sat in the couch staring lifelessly at his hands. The world around him disconnected as he tried to will himself to stay calm.

Itachi.

What would such a man want with Naruto. The blond had no part in the feud between brothers. He was innocent. Itachi had no right to mess with him.

Yet when had Itachi ever played by the rules. That realization was enough to make Sasuke sick. All he knew was that he had to get to Naruto, somehow.

Without knowing how it happened, he was walking aimlessly through the icy rain, Kiba's and Hinata's calls drowned out by the racing beat of his heart.

He had known something was wrong about today. Everything was trying to make him see the hidden danger that lurked so close to home, so close the one he loved.

The mere thought of losing Naruto again was too much to bear. What right did Sasuke have to love him, if he could not even protect him.

Sasuke didn't even feel the cold on his unprotected face. The sleet melting as they made contact with his flushed face.

He could see the street lamp lighting the road just a few yards away. Beneath it stood a figure, someone who Sasuke could care less about. If it was not Naruto, then he could not bring himself to care. He would just walk on hoping to find what he was searching for.

"Hmm... Not very bright of you. Running out into this, not even knowing where you are headed." The man spoke from his spot under the lamp. "Not something I would expect from Itachi's brother."

The mans words froze Sasuke's steps. Onyx eyes widened and turned to the one who had spoken a cursed name.

"At the rate you are going you'll never reach your little lover in time. How sad, the poor blond will die without seeing you one last time." It was mocking, but it had the desired affect. Sasuke was no longer lost in a torrent of his own mixed up emotions. His mind was bringing him back to the here and now.

"Then again you might make it on time... it's not that far from the Bayside Suites. Hmm... that name always caught me as odd. Wouldn't one assume that it would be by a bay with a name like that. What do you think, Sasuke?" The boy was already running down the streets before the sentence could be finished.

"Hmm.. I wonder how this will turn out." The light caught the mans face and he smirked. Madara couldn't think of a better way to spend his night.

Naruto groaned as he slowly came back to the world of the living, granted he knew that he wouldn't be there for long.

Getting a feel for his surroundings, he found himself still in the kitchen. Only difference was that he was tied to one of the cabinets with some sort of wire. It dug uncomfortably into his wrist, halting his movements.

"So sleeping beauty decides to wake." Itachi stood across the room, which was now dark, lit only by a dozen or so candles. It reminded Naruto of something out a gothic movie. Maybe it was some sort of ritual. He didn't really care to find out.

"Why am I still alive? I thought you wanted me dead." Itachi laughed, finding humor in Naruto's outburst.

"So quick to die? Now where would the fun in that be? I just wanted you to be awake when I ripped your still beating heart from your body." Naruto's attention was drawn down to the dagger that Itachi held gently within his hands.

Catching the look Itachi smirked. "This is a family heirloom... it has seen much blood and pain. You should be pleased to know that you are the first person that I will use it on who is not blood related." Naruto wondered if he should correct Itachi on his assumption. It was hard to be pleased about something like that.

"I can't wait to see it glisten with your blood as your screams fill the room. It was such a shame I wasn't able to take your life the first time. I wasn't able to show my face due to obvious reasons."

"What do you mean first time?" Naruto pulled at his bindings. They cut deep into his skin causing him to hiss in pain. '_Just keep him talking. Prolong it as long as you can._' He told himself.

"What? Did you honestly think your idiot of a father could have figured out what was going on behind his back?" The knife glinted in the candle light. "If it wasn't for the hint I gave him, he would have let it continue."

"You!" Naruto was completely shocked to say the least. All his pain, all of Sasuke's pain was due to this man. He never thought it possible to feel as much hate as he was feeling now.

"Yes, I was the one to tear you from Sasuke's grasp. He wasn't supposed to get side tracked. His fate is intertwined with me. I should be the only one he ever thinks of... ever dreams of. Not some filthy human child. Sasuke should have never of dared to taint his blood by associating with something like you." He shot Naruto a disgusted look. "Even now, human blood flows through your veins. Sasuke and I are all that are left who hold only that of the blood of Satan himself. The dark lord's blood flows through Sasuke's veins and mine. We are devils, meant to hate and destroy. We are cursed, no thanks to our grandmother who caught the dark lord's eye. Now we must live in pain."

"You are a devil, but never Sasuke. I don't care what blood flows through his veins. To me he is Sasuke... nothing more, nothing less." Itachi seemed to anger at this.

"Shut up you filth. Nothing will change what Sasuke is and what he is fated to be." Naruto thrashed around trying to get away from Itachi who was advancing on him. Blood bubbled around the wires that held him, but the pain was numbed by the overwhelming fear he felt.

"I will silence you once and for all, and I will enjoy every minute of it."

Naruto screamed in fear as his shirt was torn from his body, leaving his chest bare and exposed. His tan flesh looked pale in the candle light, the only color coming from the red and purple marks that littered his chest. A telltale sign of his and Sasuke's intimacy.

The tip of the dagger trailed up and down the blonde's chest it a teasing manner. Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the feeling the cold metal made on his skin. He couldn't believe he was going to die.

"Aaahh!" The scream pierced the silence just as sharply as the blade did into the soft tan flesh. Blood flowed from the spot as Itachi dragged the dagger down as slowly as possible. He wanted Naruto to suffer.

"Yeah my little Naruto. Scream and soak in the pain. Feel the agony for the sin you have committed." Naruto screamed and cried. He wanted so much for this to be over. He couldn't stand what he was being put through. Never had he known something to be so painful.

His mind mentally flashed to images of angry flames and sneering faces. Maybe this was indeed better than being burned alive.

Reaching his stopping point, Itachi drew the knife away. He would rip Naruto's flesh apart to get to his beating heart. Why use a knife when he did not need it. After all, it would just be a waste.

No sound came from Naruto's lips as his mouth hung open, allowing the moisture in his mouth to slid down his chin, combining with the tears that poured from his eyes. No words could describe the feeling of being ripped apart. Flesh freeing itself from flesh. It was a pity he could not die from blood loss. If that were the case then he would have been long dead.

Naruto was faintly aware of a banging that seemed almost like a dream and Itachi's cold laughter as he reached for his knife again. This would be it. This was his last moment in the world of the living. He would never be reborn again after this. It was rather a rip off. He laughed at the thought. He never really had the chance to get the full experience of being immortal or anything close to it.

He felt the knife enter him, and Naruto knew it would cut away his heart. He heard one fine bang, and that was when everything stopped. The world seemed to freeze as he became aware that another had entered the room.

Itachi smirked. "It's about time you got here."

Naruto felt panic swell within him yet again. Who else could have possible come to bask in his pain?

"Na–Naruto..." That voice he knew that voice.

Sasuke. He really came. Naruto felt the smile pull at his lips. Was he saved?

"Sasuke—" The dagger slashed through the arteries of the heart, silencing anything else Naruto was about to say. His mouth muscles twitched as his body convulsed, before the muscles fell lax and with wide eyes, Naruto slumped to the floor. Blood pooled around him, leaving his now lifeless body and his eyes that once held so much life quickly faded away, leaving them dull and empty.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed, begging whatever god might exist that Naruto would look up, smile that idiotic smile, and laugh. It couldn't be, not again. He couldn't loose Naruto again. It hurt so much, not just mentally but physically as well.

The bond they had created was calling for Sasuke to follow his mate. He knew he could not live without him.

"What a shame." Itachi's voice seemed far away as he continued to stare at Naruto's lifeless body, realization finally sinking in that he was too late to save him lover. "I was hoping you would have come sooner. It would have been amusing to see the look on your face as I ripped him apart."

"You bastard!" Sasuke spat. How could he possibly be related to something like that man?

"I did this for your own good. He was dirtying your precious body." Itachi walked to his frozen brother, stroking his cheek softly. "I am the only one who is able to be close to you."

Sasuke pushed the man away, swinging a fist as he did so. It missed but that was beside the point, he didn't want that man to touch him like that ever again.

"I'll kill you... I'll fucking kill you for what you have done." Sasuke snarled, and then charged; his hands aiming for his brother wrist and the dagger he held. It was his only hope; if he could get that weapon then maybe he would have a chance.

Itachi slashed out in response, swinging the dagger in an arch, cutting Sasuke in the arm and across the chest.

Sasuke found that he could not bring himself to care. All that mattered was that this man died, even if he had to die along with him.

He blindly fought, throwing punches and grabbing at the knife. The pain inflicted on him never registered in his mind, no matter how many times he was stabbed or cut.

Itachi just dogged, laughing gaily as if it were the most fun he had had in ages.

"You have to do better than this Sasuke." Itachi sang before grabbing his brother's arm and throwing him onto the table that was covered with candles.

Sasuke hit it with a sickening thud, sending candles everywhere. They landed behind him, and for a moment, the small flame flickered weakly before it gathered strength and began to burn through the material of the tablecloth, as another found purchase on the carpet of the living room.

"Better hurry up and kill me Sasuke, or we will end up burning here... Oh wait, I cannot die. Therefore, you are only going to cost yourself your life. I'll live on and take Naruto's heart for my own." The flames danced in the background, throwing shadows in Itachi's eyes, making him look more demonic.

Sasuke only had a few minutes... or else everything would have been for nothing.

Hinata ran towards the main building. She had left Kiba to get Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru. She knew something was not right. For as long as she had known Sasuke, she had never seen such a look on his face.

It scared her to think what might have caused it. All she knew that it had to do with Naruto and the man he was with.

She only prayed that they would all be all right.

Sasuke screamed as Itachi gripped his wrist and slammed him down onto the burning carpet, pressing his back roughly against the fire that had erupted there. The material that made up his shirt quickly burnt away, leaving pale skin to be exposed to the hot flames, which began to burn his skin right off his body.

"Do you like how that feels? If I am not mistaken Naruto went through something similar." Itachi purred.

Itachi released his wrists, letting him scramble away to safety. Sasuke was unsure of what to do anymore; he did not know if he could win.

'_I can't think like that. I have to win... for Naruto._'

Getting up again he made his way back to his brother. It was time to put an end to this.

Sakura and Ino looked at one another as Kiba told them what had just happened.

"Shit, we have got to find them." Ino cursed. She would have never thought that something like this would happen. For Itachi to show his face after so many years, and to take Naruto on top of everything else. His goal had to be to hurt Sasuke even more.

"Don't worry Sakura we'll find them before anything bad happens." Despite her comforting words, she couldn't bring herself to believe them. Was it even worth hoping that they were fine? Ino was unsure, it was Itachi after all.

Sasuke pushed Itachi back, ignoring the dagger that was now logged into one of his lungs. He had to act fast if his plan was to work.

Itachi went to take a step forward to stop Sasuke's assault but found no purchase on the ground. He cast a quick look at the floor and his eyes widened when he found it covered in blood; blood that had pooled on the tiled kitchen floor from Naruto's dead body and had combined with the blood from his brothers wounds. The bright red blood of Sasuke's mixed with the dulling red of Naruto's and he sneered at it in disgust; it seemed that even in death, the blond had managed to annoy him.

The floor had turned slippery beneath his feet and he found that he couldn't find his footing. He tore his gaze from the tainted blood on the floor when he felt one of Sasuke's hands leave his wrist and he felt himself being pulled forward. The sharp tip of a blade found purchase in his chest and it pierced through the flimsy material of his white dress shirt, and made its way into his skin, but didn't sink in any further. A smirk crossed his face; it seemed like his little brothers last attempt failed him.

However, his eyes widened as his legs were kicked out from under him, and he began to fall back. He reached out to grab a hold of something, his flaying hand catching onto Sasuke's arm, effectively pulling him down with him. Despite the blood that was pouring out of the wound he inflicted to Sasuke's chest, the younger Uchiha smirked as he allowed himself to fall with him. It was then that he noticed the dagger that was previously in Sasuke's chest was gone, and now was being pushed into his own as Sasuke used his falling body weight to lodge the knife deeper into his chest.

The knife dug deeper into his skin and Itachi bit back the pained gasp that threatened to escape from his mouth. It seemed that he had underestimated Sasuke; he would not make that same mistake twice.

"This is it Itachi..." Sasuke wasted no time in butchering his brother's chest, trying to find his heart, his life source.

"Try as you might Sasuke you can't kill me... or what? Are you going to eat my heart? Have you the guts to do so?"

Kakashi loaded his worried students into his beat up pickup as he pulled out his phone. He hoped that Sasuke would answer.

It went to voice mail as he drove off towards town. He blamed himself for something like this happening. He was supposed to protect those boys.

He prayed that he could still save them. It was the least he could do after all they had been through together. He blamed himself enough as it was for never being able to save Naruto from the villager's cruelty.

'_Please be alive... Naruto... Sasuke_'

Sasuke coughed up blood as he dragged himself towards the blazing fire. Within his hand, he held with brother's cold heart.

He might not have the will to devour it, but he hoped with all his being that he could end the curse that was his brother by burning his very soul.

With a sad smile and a pained glance at what had once been his brilliant Naruto, Sasuke threw it into the flames. The deadly flames licked at the muscle as it fell through the scarlet wall of fire in a large arch, landing on the floor with a muted thud. It did not take long before it was entirely covered in flames and it was reduced to nothing but a pile of burnt remains, before the fire ate through that as well, effectively erasing it from existence.

* * *

To Be Continued . . .

* * *

'_May you burn in hell for all eternity Itachi..._'

_A/N - Well I feel bad portraying Itachi like this after what we find out about him in the manga... but hell... gotta love and evil psychotic Itachi... _

_Hope you all enjoyed... _


	15. Lilies

_A/N - I tried to get this out as fast as I could... Hope you all like this... Maybe..._

_Keep in mind that this is the last chapter... except for the epilogue._

_Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far. Much love!_

_

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen: Lilies

* * *

"_Lilies and laurels over them we lay, And violets o'er each unforgotten head._"

-Richard Hovey-

* * *

Sasuke crawled across the cold tiled floor, smearing it with his and Naruto's blood. The pain he should be feeling was numbed by the sorrow that was devouring him inside and out. It was unbearable to see those lifeless blue eyes staring back at him. So many times before they had shown with such life and happiness. Always a light for those around him.

It was too much; the guilt, the sorrow, the anger. Everything seemed to threaten to overcome him, making him tear at the seams of his sanity.

No one should have to see their lover die, not once and definitely not twice. What a cruel, sick, and twisted world they lived it. It was only topped by the evil which resided in it. Lurking in the shadows waiting and stalking. Wanting nothing more than to drain happiness and hope out of everything.

Yet with in this dark dream stood a ray of hope. This was just a moment in the time that they could have together. He would see Naruto again, he knew this above all else. And this time no one would stand in their way.

If fate brought Naruto to him once, even twice, then it could certainly bring them together again. That thought alone brought solace to his heart.

Offering up one last prayer that one day, one life, they would be able to come together again. No matter the distance, no matter the time. Sasuke swore he would find Naruto again, and he knew that Naruto would feel the same.

Laying his head upon Naruto's blood soak lap, it's warmth fading fast. His eye's felt so heavy, it was becoming such a burden for Sasuke to hang onto life. The haunting voice of death was calling him in her smooth wails and chilling calls.

The pain faded and the world around him drifted off. It was an experience that he had lived through many times, the coming end of another life cycle.

With one last calm and resigned breath, Sasuke let his soul leave him. It would fly and mingle till once again it would be born, and with it Sasuke would be brought back into being. His life no longer a meaningless existence bent on revenge.

Now he had a reason to live. He had Naruto, his love, his life, his everything.

* * *

Madara stood in the doorway, amber flames dancing in his indifferent eyes. The sight before him made him sneer in disdain.

Itachi was truly an idiot. Maybe he had placed to high of hopes in his young accomplice. To fall so easily, and by the hands of someone so unworthy, so filthy.

Alas Itachi was just another replaceable piece in this broad game he had started.

He would find another, one more fitting for the duty at hand. Still this would put some hindrance upon him. He would have to repay the young Uchiha the favor one day.

Turning from the sight, he made his way back down the hall towards an unknown destination. His parting words echoing through the empty space.

"Farewell Sasuke Uchiha, may you hope our paths never cross again."

* * *

It wasn't hard to figure out the direction in which to drive. The sight and sound of blaring sirens were a key clue to Kakashi. It wasn't often that you would see such a tragedy that would call for so many emergency vehicles.

The feeling deep within his gut told him that following the convoy would lead him to where Naruto and Sasuke were. The way things were looking, they might already be too late.

Sakura tried to quell the fear that threatened to consume her. She hung desperately onto Ino like a life line. Ino had to be strong for her friend. No matter how worried she was inside, she would never let it show.

Like Ino, Hinata was trying to do the same for Kiba. The young man was looking lost, his eyes staring out into the dark dreary road ahead of him. He had been that way since he learned the full extent of the problem at hand. It was like a horror movie and Kiba was have trouble trying to piece in the fantasy with the reality.

Everything seemed so far fetched. Naruto kidnaped by a crazed vampire out for blood. It sounded like some cheap Hollywood horror movie. The only thing was, it wasn't. It was cold reality, and it scared the shit out of Kiba.

The only thought that seemed to comfort him was the idea that the bad guys always died in movies. After all wasn't this just like that? Everything would be fine. Naruto would be safe, smiling that stupid smile.

Hinata patted his arm in comfort. She hated seeing Kiba like this, seeing him look just the way she felt.

Looking up her gripped tightened as she took in the bright fire that seemed to light the entirety of the main street. The fires licked at the sides of the hotel from one of the higher floors. Someone cursed, the foul word loud in the quiet truck, although she was unsure of who's lips it passed through.

Regardless she found that the situation deserved such language, for no pleasant words could describe the current situation. Nor could it compare to the emotions swirling about in the atmosphere at the moment.

The occupants of the truck watched on in shock as the firemen got to work. Each trying their hardest to stomp the destructive force. Some filed into the building while others aimed the hoses.

Kakashi got out of the truck, making his way over to a police officer who was keeping back the crowd that had gathered to make a spectacle of the matter. It was like some sick enjoyment to see something so destructive, so deadly.

The others soon followed Kakashi, not wanting to be left alone, and not wanting to miss out on the precious information that could be given.

Sakura heard Kakashi's frantic voice. "...two boys, one blond and the other had black hair..." She watched as his hands moved, accentuating his words. "... They both went missing, and some one told us they were seen here..." That was a lie, but Sakura knew it didn't really matter as long as they found them.

The police officer nodded. "All the survivors have already been evacuated, and a team was sent up a moment ago to check the room in which the fire had started." He explained, his face grim. "I don't remember seeing two young men amongst the group, mostly older couples.... Lets just hope..." The cop trailed off as his walkie talkie buzzed to life.

"Adrian, you there? Come in..."

The cop pulled the device to his ear, talking in a calm tone. "I'm here... what is it."

There was a sigh and then silence. "Well, it looks like we have three bodies here... what's more, I don't think this was an accident. Might ought to secure the area... This looks like a murder...." The voice trailed off, and the officer looked up at Kakashi who had gone pale.

Ino and the others stood motionless. No it couldn't be, not Naruto and Sasuke. It didn't help matters that the numbers matched up. Three bodies, they were looking for three people. No longer were they hoping to find them here.

"Ok... I see... I'll send someone up to check the scene, and to get those bodies down here. I want to ID them... I think I might have someone here that can identify them... do you have any idea on the sex and ages?" Adrian looked at Kakashi with sympathy. He too hoped that these were not the bodies of the young boys this man was looking for.

"Umm... yeah... all three are distinctly male... as for the ages..." There was a pause, like one would expect in a situation such as this. "Two look to be in their mid to late teens... the other maybe twenties or so..."

Sighing Adrian turned to look at Kakashi once again, all hope now gone. "Can you come with me? I would like you to identify the bodies."

All Kakashi could do was nod and numbly follow.

* * *

-_One Week Later_-

The day was sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Snow still clung to the cold ground, sparkling white in the light.

Everything was perfect, a beautiful winter day, and that was all the more reason to hate it. It was all wrong, too happy. Shouldn't a day like this be overcast and dreary? Shouldn't the clouds be crying for his loss?

Kiba paced his room being sure to curse anything he saw fit. Which included the weather, that was too bright. He wanted everything around him to weep, but all it was serving to do was to lift his mood.

He was so sure he should still be in mourning, he felt guilty to even think about going out and having fun. What heartless fool could go out with a clean conscious and party when their best friend was murdered only a week before? Certainly not him.

Pink stationary caught his eye. It was something that he had looked at more times than he could count in the past week. Memorizing the words written in messy scrawl. Possibly the last thing Naruto had written, a half finished letter to Kiba.

It was more or less a rant about the gift he had given the blond so long ago. At the time he never thought that the gang gift would ever mean so much to him.

Tearing his eyes away, Kiba picked up his black coat. It was time. This would be the last time he would be seeing Naruto. Well in this life that was.

It really was entirely not fair. Naruto would live again, he would be able to see Kiba again. Yet Kiba would never be aware of it. To him, Naruto had really died.

* * *

Sakura sat brushing out Ino's hair. The two of them had been spending their time alone together, drawing comfort from each other.

Ino reassuring Sakura that all was not lost. To Sasuke and Naruto, this was just another bump in the road. They would have another chance, and another after that. Hell, they had eternity. When Ino spoke of this, Sakura would smile.

"Don't forget, you'll meet them again. I will be sure of it, and deep down you'll remember them." It was times like these that she knew how lucky she was to have a friend like Ino. Someone so supporting; to Sakura, Ino might as well have been her sister.

"I will make it my goal in this life, and the next, to never forget anyone I have met in this time." Ino smiled up at her. She was glad that Sakura had taken the massacre so well. Usually humans took deaths so badly, but Sakura was hopeful and cheery. She was able to always see the good in the bad.

"I am glad to hear that Sakura. Very glad."

The two continued to sit in silence, enjoying each others company. Awaiting the time in which they would have to bid Sasuke and Naruto goodbye, until the next life when they would surely meet again.

* * *

Hinata sat quietly in Kiba's car. She had nothing to say, no more tears to cry. She had learned so much from the incident, more than she would ever hope to know about the ways of the world.

She learned that you should treasure every moment you spend with someone, for you never know when it will be the last.

She learned that love was the strongest power one could hope to obtain.

And above all else, she learned to never take life for granted. You sometimes only get one chance at true happiness, so you better not let it slip by.

That was why she came to her decision, and sat here now. No matter how forbidden it may be, she would let this love she felt for Kiba grow. She did not care if he was human, she would take the good and bad that would come with this relationship.

It was the least she could do after all, to be true to herself. She knew that if Naruto could see her right now, he would be smiling happily at her.

Knowing at least that much made the pain of his loss a little more bearable.

* * *

The yellow light flashed to red, halting Kakashi's onward movements. He hated having to stop, bringing his mind to rest. It was during these times that images flashed like a movie reel through his consciousness.

Clip after clip of grotesque memories, bodies of two boys bloodied and burned beyond recognition. Hair that was once corn gold now stained red, bright blue eyes dim and lifeless. Soft pale skin now cold and hard, raven locks burnt and clumped together with dried blood.

It was hard to think that something so unsightly had once been two of his precious students. Why hadn't he declined the officer. Surely he could have found someone else to ID the bodies, after all another human wouldn't have to live with these images for eternity.

The light turned green, pulling him from his mental hell. The cemetery was only a mile up the road. His drive would soon end and he would be forced to stare as those coffins were lowered into their graves. Only he would truly know the sight that they held within.

Two boys that didn't quite look human, more monstrous than anything due to the destruction they both endured. Then again they were never quite human to begin with, it was only a deception. A mask to hide what they really were.

As he pulled into the parking lot, Kakashi couldn't help to think that maybe they really were all monsters. Monsters obsessed with blood and death, because no matter how much he wanted to deny, to forget, he still could not ignore the hunger that grew within his gut at seeing the blood soaked corpses. Nor could he truly hide the shiver of delight, before being overwhelmed with sorrow and disgust.

Yes he was a monster, but he was not evil. He would never be evil, for that was what separated him from the devil's spawn, Itachi. No matter what, he would continue to walk on in the light, hoping to find his salvation.

* * *

Iruka cried as the priest spoke, praying for the boys souls to find peace within heaven's walls. Kakashi was there patting his back in some form of comfort.

They had decided to bury the boys together. It didn't seem fair to split them up again after all they had been through. It was also to hope that they would always be together, if only in heart.

Everyone spoke, giving kind words and blessings to the departed. Poor Kiba was unable to get half way through before bursting into tears.

Iruka was not surprised that he had taken this the hardest... no that wasn't true. There was one other who's heart wept more.

Turning he watched as a woman walked towards the caskets, tear stains streaking down her drawn and sullen face.

* * *

Kaoru Uzumaki walked forwards, an extravagant arrangement of lilies held firmly within her slender arms. The pedals blew in the soft wind, their crimson tips sparkling in the sun as if they had been stained. Stained in fresh blood.

Her grief was consuming, more so than her guilt. She would never forgive herself for the horrendous wrong she had committed as a mother. Could she even be called a mother? What right did she have when she had abandoned her child.

Scared away because of her faith, because of something she did not understand. God must have frowned upon her, or so she believed. After all she had thrown away so much, and now she could never get it back.

She was given no second chance, her son was gone. Never to return to her. She didn't care if he would be reborn. Naruto would never come back to her, not now, not ever.

It was all over for her. She had caused this, somehow. It was all her fault, and she could do nothing.

Kaoru fell to her knees, the lilies falling around her in a pool. The red petals standing out in contrast with the white snow. It was as if they were portraying her bleeding heart. Sobs racked her frame, tearing her from the inside out.

In her moment of overwhelming grief, she did the only thing she could. With all her being, Kaoru screamed the name of the person she would never see nor hold again.

"Naruto!!!"

Silence only met her ears. She would receive no answer. It was already too late, even a mothers voice would not wake a dead child's soul.

* * *

The End

* * *

_A/N - Yes there will be an epilogue... and please... don't kill me..._

_*runs to hide*_

_-Akiru-_


	16. Epilogue: Faith

_A/N - And this my friends is indeed the end to 'Blood Stained Lilies'. Enjoy. _

_Oh and be sure to read the long ass note at the end._

_

* * *

_Epilogue: Faith

* * *

"_Without faith a man can do nothing; with it all things are possible._"

- Sir William Osler -

* * *

The years began to blend and fade together, making him loose track of the centuries that had passed away, never to return again. With the changing times came new memories, along with the loss of others. Friends came, friends left, none lasting more that a blink of an eye to Naruto.

One memory, one person, though had stayed vivid in Naruto's mind, just as if it had happened yesterday. It did not matter that hundreds of year had passed; he could still envision the perfect young man with soft raven locks and dark onyx eyes.

'_Sasuke'_ A name that was now so much more like a prayer. A hope and a promise to meet again, still unanswered.

It was tempting, with the world like it was, to give up and move on. Too much sadness had built up within the blond. He had seen too many wars, so much blood and death. No matter the time that passed, he could always recount the images on the battlefield.

His last lifetime had been the worst. After the collapse of the American empire, Rome who had spread out to cover all of Europe and some of Asia, took up their weapons against Chinese Republic; sending the world into yet another bloody war.

Naruto remembered that war too vividly for his liking. Smoke, dirt, and the bitter taste of his own blood, that was his last memory. Sadly, he never made it to see the end of the war. Shrapnel from a well placed mine was his undoing. Yet at this point, he longed for death, hoping to wake in a better age.

Looking at the clean streets of Florence and the locals laughing without worry, one would think that at last the world was at peace.

Naruto knew better though. He was not one who wished to stay blind to the darker side of the times and knew better than to fall for the peaceful mask that the world liked to hide behind.

A loud and obnoxious auctioneer halted Naruto in his progress. He had classes to attend to at the local University; he did not have time to humor businessmen.

"A boy, you look like the kind of man who would know good merchandise when he saw it..." Naruto just gave him a hardening look.

"Come now boy. How can you say no to a pet as lovely as this?" The man pointed to a young girl no older than twelve tied by the wrist to a stake. Her long dark hair, a mark of a slave, was the only covering she had to hide her body.

This was why Naruto hated these people. Had the human race grown so sick as to enslave there own kind. Not even caring about age, race, nor sex. No, to them if a person was weak, then what other use to the world were they.

Naruto could not help but pity the girl. No doubt, she would be sold to a rich man, who would find pleasure in a young body. The thought alone made Naruto sick. That had been the fate of his mother before her death. His father had raped her, and he had been the result. It was his and his fathers' dirty secret. If anyone were to find out, Naruto would be enslaved and his father fined for keeping an un-registered slave.

If you were born with an ounce of slave blood, the government would stamp you; marking you as filth. Thankfully, Naruto's father had just lost his first-born son and his wife due to complications during childbirth. It was easy enough to pay of the family doctor to stay quiet, and to change Naruto's birth certificate.

Needless to say, he and his father were not very close. In fact, he had found comfort in the parents of his best friend. Naruto had known Kakashi Hitake since he was seven. They had grown up together and faced many changes together.

It was Kakashi's parents they went to when the thirst for blood started to seep within them. Moreover, it was them who comforted Naruto through all the horrid flashbacks of times long passed. Somehow though, having Kakashi around seemed to ease the pain. This had been the first time since Itachi's plan had been put into motion that Naruto had seen Kakashi. It was only slightly odd to actual be the same age as the man he had once called his teacher.

"So what do you think? Want to check it out?" Naruto shook his head, ignoring the man as he continued down the road. He had promised to meet Kakashi near the main street café. They would head to class like always and Kakashi would ask if he had been successful.

The only thing was; Naruto was never successful. No matter how many leads he could track down, Sasuke could never be found. He had looked everywhere; the closest thing he had found was a record that had dated back five hundred years ago to a Sasuke Uchiha, America's last monarch. America's turn to monarchy had been its downfall. Yet Naruto could not help but laugh when thinking about Sasuke being a king.

After this new information had become known, Kakashi had made a point that drowned Naruto's hopes of ever finding Sasuke again.

"This only makes things harder for us. With the way things are, Uchiha will not be a name you will be finding anymore, not with what it is linked back to. If Sasuke is alive now, the chances are high that he took a new surname." Kakashi had said.

Checking the records, Naruto saw that his friend had been right. The name Uchiha had last been used no more than ten years after Sasuke's down fall.

Since then, the name had never been used.

All hope seemed to be lost. Naruto only had fate and chance on his side now. They had gotten them back together once, maybe hoping for a third time wasn't asking too much.

Turning the corner, Naruto saw Kakashi lounging in a plush chair outside the café. In hand was today's paper and in the other a steaming cup of Italian coffee. It was autumn in Florence and the air was already becoming crisp, signaling the coming winter.

"What took you so long blondie? Jacking off to that old picture of Sasuke again?" Naruto blushed, cursing the pervert. How dare he even think that, besides it had only happened once.

"The Kakashi I knew would never say something like that." Ok maybe he would, but not to a students face.

"Yeah, well sorry to break it to you, but I am the Kakashi you know. Same guy, only this time around I don't have to act like your teacher." He winked at Naruto before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Sometimes I wish you would still treat me like your student."

"Aw, but where is the fun in that?" He pouted, and Naruto ignored him.

"So when do we need to get to class today? I know Dr. Klein wanted to go over some things with us before our trip next week." For their senior project, they were writing a documentary about the problems that were facing what was left of the American's. The country was pretty much an industrial pile of filth, where the slave trade ran strong.

"Hmm, sometime within the next hour... So, how's the hunting going?"

"Don't ask. I have not been able to dig up anything in months. Maybe he's just not here, still not reborn." It was hard to go on everyday without him, but at least the dull ache in his chest could be ignored and forgotten now. He had long ago grown used to it.

"Gods Naruto, don't make me give you my motivational 'you can do it' speech again." Kakashi finally put his paper down to look Naruto in the eye. "The Naruto I know would never give up, because I know Sasuke means a lot more to you than that. If you had to fight a tiger you would still run forward, if you had to climb Mount Everest you would go forwarded without a second thought, if you–"

Naruto was quite familiar with this little speech of Kakashi's. It was not as if it was anything new. He would not even be surprised if the man had it written down somewhere.

Drowning him out, he let his blue eyes wander past his friend and in the crowd. Naruto's whole body grew stiff and his eyes widened.

Kakashi, who saw the sudden change in his friend, turned to see what had caught his eye. There within the crowd was a familiar head of raven hair. Kakashi could not see their face, but he only knew of one person who ever wore it in that duck-butt style. The man turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

"Go Naruto; don't let this chance walk away. You'll never know if that was him if you don't get off of the fat ass of yours." He smiled as Naruto rushed past him, heading towards a stranger who they both could only hope held Naruto's future and happiness.

Maybe this time, Kakashi could finally see that brilliant smile on Naruto's face once again.

* * *

_As I ran, I could not help but feel my heart being tugged. Not in front of me, but from behind me. _

_Like an invisible string being played with by an unknown puppeteer. _

_Without my knowing it, I had become a puppet for the one known as fate. _

_Her boney hands moving me to do her bidding. My nature keeping me pinned to the path I wish to take. The path in front of me, not behind. _

'_Naruto...' Then why do I hear my name being called. His voice just as I remember it, so soft like it had been drug here from over the great seas. _

_I still, my feet growing heavy with knowing. The strings pulling persistently. _

_I have been fighting for so long what I must embrace. A tormenting fate that shall bring me to salvation. _

_I will play the puppet..._

_And..._

_She shall bring me to you.

* * *

_The End

* * *

_A/N - Well this is a moment that I never saw coming. Sure when I started this fic I knew that I would someday end it if I was lucky. And now here I am finally saying goodbye to it. Kinda sad. _

_One thing though I never expected was so meet some good friends through writing this. One of which as stayed with me through it all. Giving me positive remarks that kept me going. He pushed me when I began to fall back, and he believed in me when I began to loose faith. Thanks to you, I finally go to this point. This chapter is dedicated to you. 3 Much love to you YaoiBoi! _

_But the person who should get the most praise is little Miss Disgruntled Minion. She was really there from start to finish. Listening to me ramble on about a fic that was merely a dream. Putting up with me tossing chapters at her to look through, sitting on the phone for hours as I read her the latest chapters. Telling me that I had written was better than it actually was. (_**Beta's note:** **Haha, yeah right, you're the one who sat through all my chapters too. And don't you dare call your stuff junk, or I'll hold your present for ransom**)_ Feeding my over inflated ego. LMAO. Know that I love ya girl. If it weren't for you, this would still be a dream. You're the best friend/sister-ish thing I have ever had and had the honor of knowing and that is why this fic is dedicated you (__**Aw, how sweet)**__... haha now I am getting mushy and I know you hate all that. So I give you some pointy objects and an unsuspecting victim to make up for it. Have fun. xD (__***Grins* You know me so well)**_

_Last but not least, I have all my readers to thank. Without you, I really would not have finished this. You guys gave me encouragement in the form of reviews and kind words. Thanks so much for reading this and I hope you continue to watch me as I grow as a writer. _

_Also no there is NOT going to be a MULTI-CHAPTER sequel... but yes you will be seeing some one-shots... so far I have two planned... maybe a third, but don't hold your breath. _

_My main focus will not be on my own original novel that I plan to write and publish... maybe... as well as finishing 'Affinity' and starting 'The Narcissistic Theory' which I look forward to starting since it is funny, sweet, and short... only five chapters... so I might write it all out first and then post it... who knows. _

_Well then, I guess this is it. Thanks again so much. I will truly miss you guys. _

_Hugs & Kisses_

_-Akiru-_

_3  
_


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